


Heroing and Villaining, Taylor’s Snippets

by Slider (TemporalKnight)



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Disney Princess & Evil Queen, F/F, F/M, Other, Resident Evil - Freeform, Snippets, Vampire!Taylor, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 57,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24379660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TemporalKnight/pseuds/Slider
Summary: So I finally decided to bunker down and make a snippets story compilation since I have quite a few mini-ideas that I want to write and with 'Mutant Deviations' starting to wind closer to the end, I've been devoting a bit more time to the random ideas. There will be a few crossovers in here as time goes on though it'll probably be primarily Taylor's adventures in insanity around the Wormverse as a whole.If anyone wants to take one of these ideas and run with it, please just let me know, I doubt I'll have an issue with it, but I would like a heads up.For chapters where Taylor is a significantly different age than in canon I'll make that clear at the beginning. Most of the other things you can assume will just be touched upon in each story as they come up. Several are intended to be more or less canon until the story start, but considering that the vast majority of my random ideas have AU elements that's probably going to be somewhat rare so I'll mention it beforehand when those chapters come up. Anyway, onto the first ficlet!
Relationships: Charlotte/Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver, Emma Barnes/Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver, Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver/Lisa Wilbourn | Tattletale
Comments: 100
Kudos: 218





	1. The Princess of Brockton Bay

**Premise:** Taylor's powers make her alternatively a Disney Princess and an Evil Queen. She listens to entreaties by different folk and helps out those whom she finds either deserving or that she just likes. When someone pisses her off though, her personality swaps and she sends her evil forest after them. Or her evil apples. Or her evil dragon. Or her…you get the story…

_"Would you like an apple, my dear?"_

**The Princess of Brockton Bay**

Charlotte tried to force her breathing to stay slow and steady as she stepped into the Woods. If her breathing was normal, maybe her heartbeat would stay normal too. There wasn't really any official word on just what would make The Princess more inclined to help you, but almost everyone agreed that you should be calm when approaching her.

Charlotte clutched at her blouse and tried not to think about how most of the people The Princess didn't like probably wouldn't be posting on PHO.

No, it wasn't good to think like that. She had _chosen_ this. She had _chosen_ to come out to the Woods. She had _chosen_ to put her life into The Princess' hands. She _needed_ to do this. No matter the risks, no matter the costs, no matter the…

Charlotte choked back a sob and leaned against a tree as another shudder racked her body. Her hand spasmed in its grip on her shirt and for one horrible moment she thought the pale blue fabric was going to tear and leave her in rags. Then, blessedly, the shaking passed and she was able to unclench her fist. Falling to the moss-covered ground on shaky legs, Charlotte covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking with her cries.

This wasn't how she was supposed to see The Princess.

This wasn't how her life was supposed to be. She was supposed to graduate, go to college, find a nice boyfriend (or, if she was honest with herself after…everything, a girlfriend), get married, start a family. But no. Not anymore. Not since those _fucking bastards_ had taken her. Not since they had thought she looked 'nice'.

She was still crying when she felt a soft, furry body nuzzling up against the side of her head. Charlotte let her hands drop from her face, and as she tried to wipe the tears away on the back of her arm, she saw a small deer to her side. There was also a rabbit curled up on her lap. Her eyes still leaking, she hesitantly reached down and ran a hand through the soft fur of the bunny. It snuggled against her even more, pushing up into her hand and bringing a soft smile to Charlotte's lips.

"That's better, I hate it when people are sad in my Woods."

The bunny and the deer really should have tipped her off, but the voice still caused Charlotte to jump a little. She gasped as her head whipped around and she saw The Princess smiling at her. The girl's - and she _was_ a girl, the rumors had been true, The Princess couldn't have been more than 16 or 17 - clothes were almost all deep pinks and light reds. She had a dress that was poofy enough it must have been difficult to walk in, coupled with a small tiara that was more quaint than regal. Charlotte couldn't see her shoes though she got the distinct impression that The Princess was in heels.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Oh you didn't. If you had offended me, you'd know. Also, I wouldn't have asked my friends to cheer you up," The Princess said. She smiled and dropped to the ground with enough grace that Charlotte was embarrassed by her earlier collapse. The girl's curly black hair even splayed out behind her in an almost designed fashion. How much did she practice that move?

"So, why have you come to my Woods? Most people don't tend to just wander out here anymore."

Charlotte's eyes snapped closed and she felt her heat rate kick up as her breath came in short gasps. The soft fur of the deer's muzzle against her back helped her to center herself again and it was less than a minute before the panic attack passed and she was able to open her eyes again and meet The Princess' gaze. "I…need help. I need to…I need to move on. I need to be _free_."

"Hmm," The Princess said, her fingers drumming on her knees. "Big and vague. That would cost a lot. Let's see if we can't get a bit deeper and a bit more specific so that we can be smarter about this okay?"

"Um. Okay."

"That's good." The Princess smiled at her again and folded her hands into her lap as another bunny hopped out of the shrubs, jumping into Charlotte's lap next to the first. "How about we start with the basics. Is it a boy that has you trapped?"

Charlotte couldn't help the shudder that ran down her whole body at that. "No. Not, not anymore. They _took_ me, but I…I got away."

The Princess' smile fell away and the sun clouded over as she scowled. "I'm glad you got away. We girls have to be able to protect ourselves as much as we can these days. Who took you? The ABB, the Empire, or the Merchants?"

Charlotte bit back a sob as her hand spasmed again and the itch in the back of her mind made itself known. The bunnies shifted on her lap as her hand curled into a claw and she desperately pushed back against the craving.

"Well, I guess that answers that," The Princess murmured and the skies darkened further. Finally Charlotte was able to keep the ache at bay and she stared at the ground.

"It hurts so much. I don't know what they gave me, but I can't stop thinking about _more_. The Protectorate supposedly has someone who could help, but…they never came for me or the others to begin with, so how can I trust them now? They _knew_ where we were, but their stupid _truce_ was more important! They-they-" Charlotte broke down into sobs again and when she was finally calm enough to stop crying, she noticed that several birds had alighted onto her shoulders and there was a chipmunk patting the back of her hand.

She bit back another sob as she lifted her eyes from the chipmunk to The Princess. "They really do all listen to you."

"They're my friends. They'll probably be your friends too." Charlotte knew she was supposed to be scared of that - everyone online said she should be terrified if The Princess started talking like that - but all she felt was relief. The Princess was going to help her.

"What's your name?"

"Charlotte."

"Hello, Charlotte. I used to be Taylor, though now most people just call me The Princess. Charlotte, did you go to Panacea? If there is still something in your blood…"

"She had a waiting list a mile long," Charlotte spat. "I tried for weeks to get onto her list the real way. Then I got desperate and I…I hurt myself so that I would be at the top…she healed me, but she said…she said…"

"That you were clean." The Princess sighed. "Yeah, you're not the first who's come here for this sort of thing. A lot of people tend to come more for help with their love lives or to get back at others or just for better exam results. But I've had a few Merchant and ABB victims. I'm getting…tired of seeing them honestly."

Charlotte swallowed hard, choosing to ignore the second half of that statement and the meaning it implied. "Have you helped them all?"

"Some. The ones who were nice about it and didn't come _expecting_ me to fix their problems. Those people were lucky if I just sent them away. Some of them were _mean_. And they seemed to think that because Susy Smith rejected their invitation to the Ball, that meant they were perfectly within their rights to ask for her to be cursed." The Princess' smile would have been horrifying if Charlotte didn't completely agree with her next statement. "Those evil imps got what was coming to them."

A flash of lightning shot through the sky overhead, but Charlotte just nodded along. "Do your Woods really eat the people you don't like?"

"Sometimes. Not usually. Usually I just curse them. Most people don't really deserve to be eaten, and even then, the curses can be worse depending on which one I use."

Charlotte looked up at the stormy sky just barely visible through the trees. She shut her eyes and felt one more tear track down her face. "They took everything I loved. I wanted to be a singer…Now my throat never stops itching and I can't concentrate long enough to make a song or even just finish my homework…"

"I can help you sing again. I can take away the itch in your throat and the itch in your mind. I can make it better."

"What would it cost?"

The Princess was silent for a long time. Long enough that Charlotte was able to bring herself to meet the girl's gaze again, suddenly worried that perhaps she wouldn't be able to pay what would be asked. "Did they tell you I was fair?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Did they tell you that everything I do has a price?"

Charlotte nodded again.

"I'm a Princess. I'm _The_ Princess. But that's not all I am. I'm also The _Queen_. Or to be more specific, The Evil Queen."

Charlotte was surprised when she found herself responding without a trace of a quiver or a whimper. "I know. That's why we're not supposed to come into the Woods. I…don't think most people have quite realized it's growing."

"My Woods expand as my influence grows." The Princess held out a hand and there was an apple in it. When had her dress changed into a body-hugging green gown? Charlotte knew she should be running. She should thank The Princess - The Evil Queen - for listening, smile, and leave. But…the girl had said she could help.

"Charlotte, this apple will get rid of the urges. It'll give you back your voice and it'll smooth the memories of the pain. They'll still be there, but you won't feel the connection with them that you do now." Charlotte reached for the apple, but The Evil Queen pulled it back, shaking her head. "You need to know the cost before you accept it."

" _Anything_."

"Don't say that. Never say that. Especially not to me. I don't know you well enough to know if I would want to stop myself from taking advantage of an offer like that." The Evil Queen waited for Charlotte to nod before she continued, "Good. Now, taking this apple is a contract. A promise for a promise. Magic for a price. I'll fix you, but I need something in return."

"What?"

"Normally I ask for small things, amenities that it's hard for my friends to get on their own or difficult for them to bring back. Other times I ask for something a bit steeper. You, Charlotte, you want two things. One that is very big, and one that is fairly simple. I can mitigate the cost by offering to wipe out the Merchants as well though that only lessens the burden."

Charlotte frowned. "That seems like something you would be charging _more_ for."

The Evil Queen smiled, a small chuckle issuing forth which the birds replicated in their warbles and the surrounding mammals all pawed the ground in time with her cadence. "Yes you would think that wouldn't you? Except that I'm going to have to scare quite a few people when I send my friends to tear the Merchants down and drag each and every one of them back to my Woods. I'm also going to probably lose several friends in the effort. People might connect my attack back to being precipitated by you. So I can use that as a counterpoint to help you offset your cost. Especially since you didn't ask for it yourself."

Charlotte slowly nodded. "No one except the Merchants would be hurt?"

"I swear it. The Woods will expand however, and people may be frightened by that once they realize it's occurred. That's another reason your cost is lessened."

"Okay. I can…I want them to _pay_."

"Oh they will. _They_ _will_."

Charlotte let out a shaky breath and smiled at The Evil Queen. "What do I have to pay then?"

"I love my friends, but it gets lonely out here sometimes. I would like a companion for a few weeks." Charlotte's eyes went wide, but the Queen continued before she could say anything. "I would ask for eight weeks. If I'm remembering my dates right, the school year should be about finished anyway. So, for the beginning of summer, you spend it with me. You help me take care of my friends, you keep me company."

"And when those eight weeks are over, I can go home?"

"When those eight weeks are over, if you want to go home, you can. Some people…some people don't want to go home afterwards. Some like it better out here. That's why my Woods expand without my influence growing. When someone stays, the Woods enlarge. Suitable compensation must be given in all things."

Charlotte looked down at the bunny still sitting on her lap. Her parents would be upset. But her parents just thought she was supposed to pick her life up like nothing had happened. Like those people had never touched her, or forced her to take those things. She was just supposed to grin and bear it, because it was _Brockton Bay_ and 'bad things happen here sweetheart, but we have to keep living our lives anyway.'

But what about her friends? They would miss her. Even if she didn't end up staying past the eight weeks, they would still be worried. And if she did stay, what about college? What about singing? What about a family?

Her hand spasmed again and the shudder ran up her arm and into her spine sending small convulsions through most of her body. It passed in moments, but it was enough to remember why she was _here_ :

No one else was willing to help. No one except The Princess, The Evil Queen.

"Do we have a deal, Charlotte?"

"We have a deal, Your Highness."


	2. Evil is Resident

**Premise:** Jack was more successful than he had realized and when he convinced Amy to try being evil…she went a bit more in depth than anyone had expected. Bonesaw would be jealous of the virus and parasites that Amelia has dreamt of unleashing on the people that she hated…   
  
_“Hey guys, what’s covered in blood and tentacles, has no nose, and constantly mumbles_ Protectorate _while trying to kill you?”  
“Not the time, Clock!”  
“I’m not joking, I’m legitimately curious what is trying to kill us _this _time.”_  
 ****

 **Evil is Resident**  
  
“So, Glory Girl, do you think that we can kill her _now_ please?” I snarled as another of those _licker_ things died to my bugs. I could do fuck all against the zombies, but the lickers at least I could kill easily enough. So much exposed muscle and brain to burrow through and destroy. If only they died _faster_.  
  
I still hated the name that Clockblocker had given them though. That was just gross. Appropriate, but gross.  
  
“Will you stop asking me that?!” Glory Girl shouted back, her fist blowing the head off of another zombie dog. She was useful to have around at least. Even if her constantly moaning about how she wanted to bring Biohazard back from the dark side was getting grating. I was all for redemption, but Amelia had lost her shot at that when she started turning the people of my city into _fucking zombies_!  
  
“She has a fucking point, Vicky!” Laserdream snapped back. She was hovering in the air a few feet away and sniping any of the zombies that made it over the cordon. Thankfully, we were finally reaching a lul in the onslaught and she dropped back to the ground. Laserdream came over to me and pried the bandage away from my shoulder, using her finger to cauterize the wound I had received a few minutes ago.  
  
“I _know_ this hurts, I’ve done it to myself before. How are you not at least wincing, Skitter?”  
  
Tattletale grunted from her spot on the ground a few feet back. “Her pain sensation is all jacked up. Thank Bakuda for that.”  
  
“It’s really not that bad,” I muttered. “And I was being serious, can we please try to get to Amelia and kill her already? Whatever that giant, no-nose, deathless, tentacle demon thing is, it’s just the start of the horrible. She’s been ramping up.”  
  
“I know,” Glory Girl muttered.  
  
“Zombie dogs and zombie humans were bad enough. Those clawed lizard things were nightmares, and the skinless monkeys are going to leave me with nightmares, but those at least _die_.”  
  
“I _know_ ,” Glory Girl snarled.  
  
“Clockblocker’s named the lizard things ‘hunters’ by the way, Skitter,” Tattletale commented, not bothering to lift her head from her chest.  
  
I ignored her. “The giant fucking spiders have been literally _eating_ people. I found an insectoid _thing_ a few blocks away that can stick a tube down your throat and fill you with some sort of larva.”  
  
“Wait what?” Clockblocker snapped his head to me. “Why are we just hearing about this?!”  
  
“I killed it, but where there’s one, there’s going to be more. And now we have that tentacle monster thing that I actually _hope_ wants to just kill us. Because I don’t know about you, but I would really prefer not to be stalked forever by a goddamn monster because your sister has gone insane!”  
  
Bitch nodded. “Yeah. What she said.”  
  
Aegis groaned and rubbed at his temples. “Look can we please just drop it? I don’t think it’s a question of whether that thing is trying to kill us or not. It was…very persistent when trying to smash me into a pulp.”  
  
“I don’t know why any of you are afraid,” Tattletale said, finally lifting her head and scowling at us all. “We all know that it’s going to come right for me when it finds us again. She thinks I’m her personal fucking demon or nemesis or something.”  
  
“We should call it Nemesis…” Clockblocker muttered.  
  
Glory Girl slammed her fist into the nearest wall and snarled. “You started all this! She was _fine_ before you destroyed her at the bank!”  
  
“You were going to cave my goddamn chest in you bitch! Of course I riled her up, what the fuck else was I supposed to do? I’m a fucking theif and a bitch. I needle people, I talk and I annoy them. I don’t get to smash things, I just get to fucking _talk_! So I _talked_! Amelia was screwed six ways to Sunday before I did anything. If all it took to set her off was _talking_ maybe you should look at your home life.”  
  
“Come over here and say that you - ”  
  
“Hey! Everyone just, just calm down, okay? Please.” I had to salute Gallant for trying. He wasn’t going to succeed, but he was making an effort. “We need to work together if we are going to survive this. Vicky, I know that you don’t want to admit it, but…”  
  
“ _I KNOW_!” Glory Girl screamed. She clenched her hands into fists in her hair and collapsed onto the ground, tears rolling from her eyes. I was completely unimpressed. Killing the two approaching lickers was far more important than her drama act. “She did something to me before she starting this fucking nightmare okay?! I’m having a really hard time thinking of anything but how much I fucking love her and I _know_ that she’s killed the entire goddamn city! I just…I can’t…I can’t deal with this right now…” Her legs curled up to her chest and she started crying in earnest as Gallant went to awkwardly pat her back.  
  
I frowned as my swarm detected something at the edges of my range. “Motherfucker, he’s back. Aegis, does that gun from Kid Win still have a charge?”  
  
He paled. “No. I used the last one on the plant thing five minutes ago…”  
  
“Fuck. He’s not going for my swarm clones. People, are we fighting or moving?”  
  
Bitch stood up next to me and growled. “Fucker killed Brutus. I want to _destroy_ him!”  
  
“Yeah, well you have no dogs to help with this fight, Bitch, so sit down. He will punt you across the street as soon as blinking. Aegis! Are we fighting or are we running again?”  
  
“I-I-I haven’t been able to get through to anyone with the Protectorate yet.”  
  
Tattletale stood up, unholstering her gun. “Skitter, Aegis has gone bye-bye, you’re in charge. Orders please.”  
  
“Wait, when did we decide this?” Laserdream asked looking back and forth between Aegis, Tattletale, and me.  
  
“Just now,” Clockblocker chimed in, nodding at me. “Sorry, Aegis, but you’re starting to freeze up buddy. Skitter, how do we get out?”  
  
The Nemesis thing roared, and pulped another zombie that was in-between it and us. I gathered the remaining spiders I had and started to weave a web over the opening in front of us. Maybe if he got enough of a running start then Clockblocker could freeze my web and we could dice the thing into pieces…  
  
I didn’t hold out much hope of that working though; nothing was ever that simple.  
  
“Okay, everyone, this is what we’re going to do.”


	3. A Late Night Walk - Chapter 1

**Premise:** Taylor died in the locker and was buried. Shame she didn’t stay that way.  
Note: In this continuity, canon timeline is a bit different in this story.  
  
 _“So maybe being a vampire isn’t that bad?”  
“Taylor, you literally woke up in a grave. I have a very hard time seeing how that could ever be considered a pleasant evening.”  
“You obviously have never gone to Winslow.”_  
 ****

**A Late Night Walk**

Coil stared at the feed from his soldiers’ cameras and couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face. It had taken quite a bit of effort to track his newest pet down, she was slippery and far too smart for her own good. She’d led him on a merry little chase for most of the day, but now the sun was set and the crowds had diminished and her cover was gone. She’d fallen right into his web. Just as they all did. Just as this city would.  
  
His pet would show him the secrets of all of his enemies, whether she wanted to or not. He would rule here. His victory was all but assured now.  
  
Dropping the timeline where he held the team back, Coil chuckled and split the timeline again as his soldiers handed his pet - Tattletale, he would name her Tattletale - the phone.  
  
In the first world he brought his mirth under control and crooned, “Good evening, Miss Livsey. It’s a pleasure finally getting to speak with you.”  
  
“You have me at a disadvantage,” his Tattletale responded. She kept up a good act, her voice didn’t waver at all. Yet he could see the fear in the way her eyes were flashing from one soldier to another, never settling for more than a second. The alley had no way out except through the three soldiers. Three trained soldiers with pistols and automatics vs. a single girl whose only skill was to talk. Ah how he loved to see the moment of despair.  
  
“You may call me Coil, or if you prefer, Boss. I have a business proposal for you, Miss Livsey. I would like to purchase your services.”  
  
Her eyes centered on the phone and he saw her swallow hard.  
  
The second timeline had just picked up the microphone after leaving her to stew for a few moments longer. Now to see how she responded to outright threats.  
  
“Miss Livsey, I am Coil,” his second iteration asserted. “You now work for me.”  
  
“I don’t remember being hired.”  
  
“Oh you’re not being hired, my dear. You simply work for me or you die. It really is that simple.”  
  
A shudder ran through her form and he grinned wider. Delightful.  
  
In the first iteration she had taken a breath and shifted her eyes to focus on the pistol held by the soldier with the phone. “So, _Boss_ , what happens if I say that I’m pretty happy staying out on my own?”  
  
“Well, Miss Livsey, I would be very disappointed, and I believe you would have to be careful of consequences from such a choice. Brockton Bay is a dangerous city for young women after all.”  
  
Before either iteration of his Tattletale could respond, the light in the feed changed. One of the soldiers turned and Coil could see another teenager standing at the mouth of the alley. Really, the torn black formal dress and long hair were the few clues to her gender. The dirt caked onto her skin, primarily around her fingers, and the grass and wood chips in her hair were doing an excellent job of obscuring the girl beneath the grime. Coil frowned as his soldier barked at her to move along in both iterations. The girl just walked a step closer, stumbling after she had barely moved two paces and leaning against a nearby wall.  
  
“Help…me…”  
  
“Didn’t you hear me, get the fuck out of here kid!” the soldier snapped. He pulled his pistol, leaving it aimed towards the ground as he glared at her. “This girl is under arrest for shoplifting. Enforcement is handling this. Get. Out.”  
  
“Hun…gry…”  
  
In his first timeline, his pet gasped, her eyes widening. “No fucking way…You guys need to leave. Now. Don’t antagonize her. Don’t provoke her. Don’t make any sudden movements. Especially Big Guy A, yeah you knucklehead, with the assault rifle.”  
  
“You think we’re stupid, Livsey?”  
  
Coil stared closer at the screen, trying to take in everything about the interloper. In Timeline B his Tattletale remained silent, still apparently too distracted with processing his direct threat to bother focusing on the child. Perhaps he should drop that option and have one set of soldiers attack the girl?  
  
He shrugged. Why drop the timeline at all? He’d already threatened his Tattletale in that one, a bit of visceral demonstration would certainly drive home his message that she was _his_.  
  
“Kill the dirty one,” he said in the second timeline, while his first iteration said, “Hold your fire.”  
  
The soldier in the second world didn’t bother responding. He just lifted his pistol and shot the girl in the head. His Tattletale screamed and dropped backwards onto her hands and buttocks and scrambled deeper into the alley. He snorted at the pathetic display and was nearly about to have the cellphone brought back to her when the dirty teenager stood up from the alley’s ground.  
  
He smiled, two capes for the price of one. This could not get any more perf-  
  
“ _ **RAWWWWWHHHHHH**_!!!!!!” The inhuman screech she let out was so loud he pushed back from the console and covered his ears. Even worse, as her mouth had opened he’d seen _fangs_ in her visage. She dropped to all fours and before Coil could say anything, she _pounced_ forward onto the soldier that had shot her. One reached down to try to pull the girl off his partner, but the man was far too slow. She had already brought her teeth down onto her prey’s neck and torn a significant chunk away with just her jaw. Blood spurted across the alley and she clamped on again, nearly tearing his head off from the force of her second bite.  
  
The other soldier’s hand had finally reached her. He barely grazed her shoulder before she let go of the dead mercenary. She twisted so fast it was hard for Coil to follow her movement. She grabbed his hand with fingers that had extended into claws. Her other hand came up and she raked her other clawed hand through the armor plating on his arm. The soldier screamed, blood spurting into the air as the armor split like butter. The cape clamped her mouth onto his arm sucking in a spurt of the flying blood.  
  
The third soldier had managed to bring his weapon to bear in the meantime and he laid into her with a fully automatic spray directly into her head and back. The girl barely even flinched, the holes closing almost as soon as they had formed. As soon as the bullets stopped flying, she launched herself from the, now dead, second mercenary and landed on the third. Growling and snarling, she ripped the weapon from the man’s hands hard enough to take two fingers with it as she tossed it down the alleyway. Then she leaned down and bit into his neck as well, sucking greedily at the wound as the mercenary spasmed and died underneath her.  
  
Coil could only stare at the monitor in front of him as the girl’s blood red eyes met his own. There was nothing left in those eyes. Nothing human. Nothing he could manipulate, nothing he could talk to, nothing he could reason with or bribe. She was _rage_ and _pain_ and _hunger_.  
  
And she was staring _right at him_. She dropped the dead man and stood, crushing the camera under one foot, the sound of flesh caving in echoing through the speakers from the other cameras’ monitors. One of the men had fallen in such a way as to still show the alleyway as she stepped off the corpse and started further into the alley.  
  
“Please! I can help you! I can help you remember! I can help you get food! You don’t need to do this!”  
  
“Hun…gry…”  
  
“No, no, no, please!”  
  
His Tattletale’s scream echoed through the alley. Carnage. Complete, utter carnage. In less than 10 seconds the dirty cape had killed three professionals without a scratch and murdered his newest pet. And she showed no signs of stopping. And she somehow _knew_ he was there.  
  
Coil dropped the timeline, breathing hard, his hands clenched on the arms of the chair he was sitting in. He shuddered as the first soldier in his initial iteration reached for his pistol, the girl stumbling towards the three men.  
  
“I said _hold_!” Coil screamed into his microphone. The man flinched, his hand moving away from his gun. “Get out of there! Do not shoot the girl, don’t touch her!”  
  
He split timelines again. In one he screamed: “Get Livsey and get out!” while in the second he shouted: “Leave Livsey as a distraction and get out!”  
  
In the first one, Livsey snorted. “Hey, girl! Help me and I can get you food! I can help you, just get me away from these guys!”  
  
The girl looked at Livsey then at the soldiers. She snarled, her mouth revealing the fangs and this time he could actually see her fingernails lengthen and sharpen as she took one step forward and leaped towards the man holding Livsey as they ran past her.  
  
In the second iteration, Livsey waved as his men started to run past the girl. “Bye bye! Hi there Miss, I think I can help you.” The men were gone before the camera was able to pick up anything further.  
  
He scowled as his men died again in the first iteration and the girl came to a rest in front of Livsey, not even breathing hard. Not even _breathing_. Livsey just smirked. “Had your fill? Great. Now let’s get you cleaned up and I can help you. And then we have an asshole to find before he finds us. Cool?”  
  
“Who…who are…”  
  
“My name is Lisa. You saved my ass. As long as you don’t eat me, I can help.”  
  
“…I’m hungry…”  
  
“Okay. Let’s see what we can do about that.”  
  
He dropped the timeline, and fell back into his chair, nearly panting. Letting Livsey have nearly free reign over the feral girl was unfortunate, but it was better than the alternatives. At least this way, he could potentially salvage this. Even if he couldn’t recruit either of them, he could at least potentially prevent them from becoming enemies. Forced recruitments were common in Brockton Bay. Livsey had to know that. If he was careful with how he approached her next time, he could simply pretend to have been trying to drive a hard bargain. He wouldn’t have to worry about her setting a regenerating blur of fangs and claws loose to hunt him down.  
  
Yes, he could salvage this.  
  
Or…he could just leave town and try again in a different city.  
  
Surely, there was a city without a crazy nightmare vampire whose loosely held leash was in the clutches of a girl with a grudge against him?  
  
Surely…


	4. A Late Night Walk - Chapter 2

_"You're remarkably calm."  
"Don't equate my terrified stillness for calm. I'm trying to decide whether I should be running or getting the blowtorch."  
"Don't forget the wooden stake."  
"...You're a bitch."_

**A Late Night Walk - Chapter 2**

Getting the mystery girl to be lucid enough that Lisa’s instincts weren’t utterly _screaming_ at her to run the fuck away as fast as possible was difficult. Difficult enough that by the time they got back to her apartment, Lisa was both exhausted and just shy of preening. Going for the blood bank in the nearby clinic had been a stroke of genius that she’d only twigged on to by seeing the way Dead Girl was eyeing the veins of almost everyone they passed even sort of near on the road.  
  
Not that she had let Dead Girl be seen - seriously, who in their right mind was going to just let Dead Girl walk around looking like…that? Lisa suppressed another shudder at the flash of the horror show that probably would’ve resulted if someone had managed to sufficiently startle her, or worse, try to manhandle her. Yeah, no cops, no capes. Nobody in this city had any fucking _tact_. Not that she did either, but she at least knew when to tread lightly instead of rushing in like a bull. Usually. Sometimes.  
  
She did feel bad about ripping off the blood bank though. She’d had to find a way to pay them back in the next day or two. It shouldn’t be _that_ hard to funnel some rich asshole’s money into their accounts. It wasn’t quite a one for one, but it was better than nothing and now they didn’t have to worry about Dead Girl going psycho on anyone as a bonus. She’d need to find a more permanent solution to the horror hunger, but that was a problem for the morning.  
  
“So, this is where I live. You still have no idea where your home is right?”  
  
Dead Girl turned to her, her eyes focused, but they took far too long to blink.  
  
 _Bodily functions optimized for nocturnal activity. Bodily functions are not fully revitalized from meal. Will need more blood to resume an illusion of life._  
  
Illusion of life. Perfect. She was dealing with the undead. Because that made sense. Once again, Lisa questioned the wisdom of actually taking this girl home with her. She should’ve just called the PRT and taken her chances with getting out of town before that Coil asshole realized she’d cut Dead Girl loose.  
  
“I…I think my home is…I think my mother is dead…I don’t really…I don’t…I’m sorry…”  
  
And then Dead Girl had to go and say stuff like that. She’d been doing it all night. Little things completely at odds with the sheer existential _terror_ that she had inspired when Coil’s mercs had accosted them. Lisa sighed and forced a smile. “It’s fine, it’s not a problem at all. You can stay here as long as you want.”  
  
“It’s not safe.” She grimaced and her eyes dropped to the floor. “I’m still hungry. I…I don’t remember anyone…Everyone else I saw just ran away…I don’t want to hurt you because I get too hungry…”  
  
 _Blood bags weren’t ideal. Needs blood from living creatures to satisfy urges. Will not hurt you unless turning feral. Terrified of being alone again._  
  
“I’m not worried; if I was scared you would hurt me do you think I would show you where I sleep?”  
  
Dead Girl’s eyes shut, her fists clenched, and she shrugged, clumps of dirt breaking loose from the rags of her dress - her _funeral dress_ \- to fall to the ground at her feet. “People can turn on you. I don’t want to do that.”  
  
 _Previous friends turned on her. Doesn’t want to be like them. Terrified of being alone, terrified of being a betrayer._  
  
“I promise you’ll be fine. We’ll figure out how to get your hunger under control in the morning okay?”  
  
She just nodded.  
  
Lisa stepped closer to Dead Girl and gently grasped her shoulder. “Let’s get you cleaned up and into some real clothes, I think I have a big shirt and some pants that might fit. You probably won’t fit into any of my bras though.”  
  
She winced. “I…don’t think I wear a bra. This thing doesn’t have one at least and I don’t remember needing one…”  
  
“Okay, well, that makes things easier. Come on, shower first. You’re going to feel _a lot_ better once you get all of that dirt off and start looking like a real person again. Trust me.”  
  
Dead Girl didn’t react, though she did let Lisa lead her into the bathroom. She didn’t even react when Lisa managed to get her dress off, still staring at the floor.  
  
 _Doesn’t think her body could be viewed as attractive. Knows she’s not normal. Knows she’s not healthy. Reactions ingrained from before body’s changes. Issues with body image were pre-existing._  
  
Damn, the rabbit hole just kept getting deeper. Lisa bit her lip trying to force aside the growing, nagging thought that maybe Dead Girl had wound up dead as a result of her isolation. If her parents were dead too…on top of her problems with her friends and her body issues…Lisa shook her head and plastered another smile on her face as she settled the girl under the shower head and started to get her cleaned up.  
  
“I love your hair. It’s basically the perfect length and once we get rid of all this crap, I’m fairly certain it’s going to be naturally curly. Mine is always straight. You have no idea how much effort I have to put in to get curls.”  
  
“I…think I liked my hair…”  
  
“Well then I’ll make sure to get it into whatever style you loved once we wake up in the morning. No sense in doing anything fancy tonight, we just gotta make sure to get out the gunk so we have something to work with.”  
  
Dead Girl nodded.  
  
Lisa switched tactics, studiously ignoring the wood chips that were swirling down her drain from the clumps in the girl’s hair. “So, I need to call you something, because the name I have in my head is just not super pleasant.”  
  
“I don’t - ”  
  
“I know. That’s why we’re going to play a game. Can you turn around so that you’re looking at me?”  
  
Dead Girl turned and met her eyes. “Great! Now, just relax, let the water knead your shoulders, loosen those knots. Just look at my eyes and listen to my voice. Don’t consciously reach for your name, just _know_ that you _have_ one.” She nodded. Lisa smiled, dropping her hands down to take the girl’s in her own. “Alright, here we go.” She let her power ramp up, pushing aside the growing headache, and she started to sing, “A, B, C, D, E, F, G…” As she went through the alphabet, Lisa watched for the telltale widening of recognition in the girl’s irises and the involuntary squeezing of her hands. This girl may not consciously remember much about herself, but she knew enough that the memories were _there_. And Lisa was the _perfect_ one to find those threads.  
  
The girl’s hands spasmed ever so slightly and her eyes widened. Lisa cut off and smiled. “Awesome. So your name starts with a ‘T’ then.”  
  
The girl’s hands tightened again and she took a reflexive breath even if her body didn’t seem to need it. “How do you know?”  
  
“Can you keep a secret, Tee?” The brunette nodded. “I’m a cape. I can make good guesses. _Really_ good guesses. I just need something to start off with and then I can get who’s sleeping with who, passwords to accounts, or even just names.”  
  
“My name was ‘Tee’?”  
  
“Well probably not _just_ Tee,” Lisa said shrugging. “But it almost definitely started with that. And with that I can figure out your full name. I have enough information about you that it’ll just take me an hour or two on the internet and I should be able to track you down.”  
  
“I’d…I’d like that…But I’m…really tired right now…” She wasn’t just saying that. Lisa saw her swaying now that she had mentioned it and her eyelids were starting to droop.  
  
“Okay, I’ve got you cleaned up, so let’s just get you dry. Then I can get you some clothes and you can sleep for a bit while I try to figure out who you are. Alright?”  
  
Tee nodded. She tried to smile at Lisa too, but it was strained enough that it almost physically _hurt_ to see the pain in that expression.  
  
“Come on, Tee. Let’s get you to bed.”

* * *

“Sunlight burns her too,” Lisa murmured to herself as she set the laptop on her knees. “Thank god for migraines and blackout shades. But, god, can you get any more vampire cliche than being burned by sunlight, drinking blood, and clawing out of your own grave? At least she doesn’t quite seem to realize that last one…yet.” Lisa shuddered. Fuck, how terrifying must that have been? To wake up trapped, alone, underground. Then to literally have to punch and claw and scramble just to get out of the -  
  
“Nope, nope, nope, _not_ thinking of that, thank you very much. Stupid fucking imagination. Stupid fucking power. Okay, let’s find who you are, Tee.” She started tapping at the keyboard, gnawing on some jerky to avoid having to get up and make food. Hopefully this wouldn’t take too long…  
  
Twenty minutes later, Lisa was scowling at her computer screen. “No wonder she fucking triggered…They really need to get the Lazarus tables at this city’s morgues. Could’ve avoided this shit if the asshole penny-pinchers had been willing to spring for the good shit. Wouldn’t have been hard to realize she’d regenerated while on their fucking slab _then_ would it? Fuckers.”  
  
She tried to ignore how if they _had_ gotten the fancy weight sensors, Tee - _Taylor_ \- would never have been wandering around just in time to save her from ‘recruitment’. Unable to fully suppress the shudder that ran through her, Lisa set her laptop to the side and stretched. “Okay, time to find out more details.”  
  
She grabbed a pad and wrote a quick note to Taylor, stepping into the bedroom to leave it on the side table. The odds of her waking up before Lisa got back were minimal, but better to be safe than sorry. She paused as she stared at Taylor’s body, curled up in Lisa’s sheets, hand clutching at the stuffed dog that Lisa had left her with.  
  
 _No breath. Minimal pulse. Body no longer requires direct oxygenation. Breathing is muscle memory only, not required._  
  
“Yeah, I got that before, power, thanks a bunch.” Sighing, she pulled the covers back up over Taylor and double-checked that the shades were sealed. Finally satisfied, she pushed the brunette’s hair away from her temple, her hand lingering for a moment longer on Taylor’s cold skin. “Thanks for saving me, Taylor. I’ll be right back. I just gotta go and check on what happened to your old man and see if anyone is looking for you. Don’t go anywhere okay? Please. I’ll be back, I _promise_.”  
  
Taylor clutched the stuffed animal tighter and whimpered in her sleep.  
  
“Sleep well, Taylor.”

* * *

The cemetery was more depressing than Lisa had expected. It brought back too many painful memories and regrets and she could practically feel the itch under her skin to just leave and never look back. She’d never even come to the cemetery when Rex died and here she was for a girl she didn’t even know? A girl who couldn’t even remember her own _name_?  
  
And yet…Taylor had saved her. She could endure a little discomfort if it meant getting answers for the amnesiac brunette. Squaring her shoulders and straightening her blouse, Lisa sauntered forward. It only took her three minutes to find the right gravesite.  
  
It wasn’t like it was hard with the small group that had gathered near the gaping hole in the ground.  
  
Lisa bit her lip as she got closer, stepping just far enough off the path to see around the four people at the grave.  
  
 _Dirt displaced to the sides in even amounts. Came up from below. Imprints on the ground are handprints. Imprints further out are shoe prints. Walking away from grave. No imprints walking to the grave. Onlookers: police, one PRT agent. Called by maintenance for assistance. Maintenance was alerted by crying girl._  
  
Lisa frowned, clamping down on her power. The confirmation that Taylor actually _had_ climbed out of her own coffin and grave - instead of just _looking_ like she had - set her stomach roiling. And yet…panning her gaze across the scene one more time, Lisa nodded to herself. There was a girl crumpled against the tree nearby. Lisa had mistaken her for a distraught visitor to one of the other graves, but her power hadn’t missed the cues.  
  
The redhead’s knees were pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. She was staring with laser focus at Taylor’s gravestone. Not so much the hole in the ground as the gravestone itself. The tear tracks down her cheeks and the wet spots on the ground to either side of her gave a clear impression of just how long she had been sitting in that spot. Lisa’s eyes narrowed. Taylor had given the distinct impression of not having any friends who would be that distraught over her ‘death’. Who the fuck was this girl?  
  
“Hey,” Lisa said, coming to a halt next to the crier and bending down. “Sorry to disturb you, but I came here to say goodbye to a friend. Do you know what’s going on over there?”  
  
“Someone-someone stole her,” the girl gasped. “Who would _do_ that? _Why_?! It wasn’t bad enough, everything that we did to her? It wasn’t bad enough that I _killed_ her? Why, why can’t she have peace even when she’s _dead_?!”  
  
 _Responsible for locker event. Not ringleader. Still responsible. Knows she’s responsible. Knows it was too far. Accepted the idea anyway._  
  
Lisa barely managed to keep the first five things she wanted to say from spilling from her lips. “Don’t be the bull,” she whispered to herself even while clenching her fists hard enough that her nails drew a bit of blood from her palms.  
  
“Generally if someone killed a teenager they’d be behind bars pretty fast. I haven’t been here too long, but Brockton Bay doesn’t seem _that_ far gone that if you’d confessed they’d have let you walk. Why do you think you killed her?”  
  
“I did it. I killed her. I killed my best friend,” the redhead sobbed. Her head dropped onto her legs and her hands left her knees to snake through her hair. “She was supposed to fight back. She was supposed to show Sophia that she was _strong_. I _knew_ she was strong! Her mother died and she _just kept_ _going_. Why didn’t she _fight_?! Why didn’t she push back? Just once, just once and I could’ve proven to Sophia that she was strong like me! I could’ve _stopped_! I could’ve told her everything if she just fought back!”  
  
 _Sophia was the ringleader. Sadist. Twisted redhead into a follower for gratification and self-justification. Redhead has trauma that left her vulnerable. Redhead is Betrayer._  
  
“Not everyone fights in the same way.” Lisa rubbed at her temples. God her head was starting to hurt. She needed to be more careful with her power. It wasn’t even 10 o’clock yet.  
  
“I thought she would fight back if I let Sophia put her in there. She said she’d let her out…I didn’t know Taylor was still in there. I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I killed my best friend. I killed her! I’m never going to get to tell her anything. I’m never going to be able to _explain_! I killed my best friend…” She trailed off into sobs again.  
  
 _Loved Taylor. Trauma prevented expressing it. Needed to show that Taylor was strong to be able to justify putting herself below Taylor even in a relationship. Needed to be strong. Sadist instilled ‘strong vs. weak’ mentality. No home support for trauma. Trauma left her vulnerable._  
  
“Should’ve just cut her loose, this is more fucked up than I thought,” Lisa mumbled. The pain was spiking again and she wasn’t even getting anything useful. Any idiot could see that the redhead was fucked up. Any idiot except her family apparently.  
  
“I killed Uncle Danny too,” the girl wailed. “No one even _cares_!”  
  
 _Fuuuck!_ There went her last hope for a happy ending. “Uncle Danny?”  
  
“Taylor kept notes. It should’ve been enough to get us what we deserved. But the police said it was hearsay. They said that someone needed to back them up. No one spoke up. I tried to tell them the truth, but they said that they couldn’t trust anything I said so soon after she died. They didn’t _listen_. I tried telling the PRT and then the police just _stopped_! They wouldn’t even see me anymore! They said it wasn’t their _jurisdiction_!”  
  
 _Sophia is a cape. PRT took over when proof was found of wrongdoing. Sophia is either Shadow Stalker or Rune. No other teenage female cape would be in high school with redhead. Media blackout implies Wards, yet Wards attend Arcadia which implies Rune._  
  
“Danny,” Lisa prompted. She hissed at the lance of pain in her skull. She’d have to rely on her own abilities for the rest of this conversation or she might not be able to get back home. Especially if her power was going to start circling itself with this Sophia bitch’s identity. She didn’t have enough information to figure that out. Her lips curved into a silent snarl. Fucking useless police. Fucking useless PRT. Whether the sadist was a Ward or a gang member didn’t particularly matter; she was still being shielded by the PRT. Bastards. No one else was going to get punished for this because then they’d have to reveal the bitch being at the center of it.  
  
“He was angry. He came to yell at me. Daddy stopped him…Daddy should’ve let Uncle Danny have me. It’s what I deserved.”  
  
 _Came to kill her. Father killed him. Father is ‘detained Divorce Lawyer in relation to secondary death’ from research. Father well connected. Father not well enough connected. Father will be made example of by PRT as proxy._  
  
Lisa screwed her eyes shut and breathed deeply long enough for the spike of pain to pass. The redhead just kept crying next to her while she recovered. Fucking power.  
  
“Do you know if she had anyone else?”  
  
“No one came to the funeral. Just the people her father worked with, me, and Madison. You…you weren’t there. If you were her friend why weren’t you there?” the redhead finally lifted her head from her knees, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Lisa.  
  
Lisa just shook her head, trying to ignore the way the world swam a bit at the motion. “I’m not a big crowds person. That’s why I’m here now. We didn’t know each other for long. I helped her out with a few things at the library. Just wanted to pay my respects by my lonesome. Looks like I’ll have to come back, considering this hubbub.”  
  
The redhead turned to stare at the grave marker again and another sob escaped her. “I wish…I wish I could tell her how _sorry_ I am. I can’t even do that anymore because some _sick fuck_ stole her. She’s never going to have any peace and it’s _my fault_. I’m so, so, sorry Taylor. _I’m sorry_.”  
  
Lisa stood, laying one hand on the tree to keep her balance as her headache tried to beat her to death. “What’s your name?”  
  
“Emma.”  
  
“Emma, I’ll make sure Taylor finds out that you’re sorry. One day. Somehow. In the meantime, you need to promise me something.”  
  
Her head snapped up and her arms fell to the ground. “ _Anything_!”  
  
“Keep away from whoever this Sophia character is. She’s…poisoned you. If you’re not already over the edge she’s going to push you over it the next time you see her. Stay away. Stay away and I’ll get a message to Taylor.”  
  
Emma stared, eyes wide. “You can get a message to her? How? Who are you?”  
  
“Just a friend of the girl you betrayed. She saved me. Now I’m driving myself into a corner to help what’s left of her. Remember, stay the fuck away from Sophia.”  
  
Emma’s breathing stopped entirely as all of her focus narrowed down to Lisa, and only Lisa. Behemoth himself could be attacking the cemetery and this girl wouldn’t care. Lisa winced; she’d said too much. “She’s alive. She’s _alive_?”  
  
Sighing, Lisa shook her head. “Something like that. Go home, Emma.” Lisa turned on her heel and strode away from the scene before Emma could react. The small crowd was still by Taylor’s empty grave, taking pictures and measurements, it looked like. Lisa didn’t pay them any further mind. She just walked out of the cemetery, heading back to the bus.  
  
She had a vampire to look after.


	5. A Late Night Walk - Chapter 3

_"So are you my minion now?"  
"Jumping ahead of things a bit there are we? And for the record, I prefer _Renfield _. If we're going to do this thing, we're going to observe the theatrics of it."_

**A Late Night Walk - Part 3**

From one moment to another, it was like a switch was thrown. I was sleeping, then I was…not. The world surged to life around me, a thousand noises assaulting my ears, a thousand touches roaming over my body, a thousand tastes dancing to life on my tongue, yet worst of all were the _smells_. I gasped, choking out a sob as the scent of bleach burned my nose, offset by pine cleaning solution, both drowned out through the orange of the dishwasher soap, the strawberry wafting off of my own hair, the disgusting odor of someone laying in garbage, oils from cars, wet dog…and some lingering scent in the air that was indescribably delicious and was making my mouth water.

"Taylor? Are you okay?"

I whimpered at the shout assaulting my ears. "Loud!"

"What? But I'm not - oh. Crap, heightened senses. Okay, um give me a second, I think I have ear muffs around here somewhere." It sounded like a tiger was loose in the apartment as she pulled things out of drawers and set them to the side. Finally, the noise quelled and the girl came back. She gently pulled my hands away from my ears and laid a set of fluffy ear muffs over them instead.

The fuzz sent shivers down my spine and her touch nearly burned with the heat in her hands. At least the world around me quieted to a dull shout instead of overpowering roars. And whatever the hell had happened to my nose, I was finally getting the different scents sorted out and pushing the unimportant ones to the side. All except for that minty syrup one which was _really_ hard to totally ignore.

"Better?"

I opened my eyes, wincing at the spear of light into them. My eyes adjusted faster than the rest of my senses though, and after only a few seconds I was able to mostly see without squinting. I carefully nodded, and pushed myself up to a sitting position in the…where the hell was this? Where was I? Who was the blonde girl sitting on the bed in front of me?

Why couldn't I remember my name?

My eyes widened and my breathing increased its pace until I was just gasping. The girl reached over and took my hands in hers squeezing tight. "Hey, hey calm down. It's okay, you're safe here. What did you just start reacting to? Maybe I can help. I need something to start with."

"I - " I cut off as the itching in my throat increased to hot needles as my voice creeped out. Wincing, I shook my head and held a hand to my throat. The blonde grimaced and stood up.

"Okay, well, let's try water first. I'm…not particularly expecting it to work, but, better to try." She smiled and was gone a moment later. I looked around the room, trying to ignore how I could hear the faucet turning on and off again. I shouldn't be hearing this good. The silk of the sheets shouldn't be _this_ soft.

And why could I not get that mint smell out of my mind?!

The girl came back into the room and the scent increased with her presence. I pushed down the ache in my mouth from it and just took the glass of water from her. Upending it, the itch diminished slightly. Not enough. Not enough at all.

"Damn, I was afraid of that." The blonde sat back on the bed with a sigh. "Okay, look, first off do you remember my name? From last night?"

My eyes narrowed as I tried to think back. There was…an alley…and then a clinic…and something about a shower. She had helped me in the shower. My eyes widened and I could feel my face heat up as that image flashed through my head.

She chuckled. "Okay so you remember some of it at least. I'm Lisa. It's a pleasure to meet you, now that you're more lucid. So I think I know how to fix your throat. But I need you to promise me that you're going to be careful. Because I can't go and raid another clinic for you and I don't have any pets to experiment on. I was planning on coming back with a rat and a cat to try this with, but my head was _killing_ me so I kinda…forgot."

I frowned. She sighed again. "You have no idea what is going on do you?" She held her hand out to me and my eyes focused on her wrist. There was a vein pulsing there. I couldn't tear my eyes away from that vein…

"You need to be able to talk, and you need to stay lucid. I can't hide a vampire in my apartment if you're going to freak out and eat the neighbors because I forgot to bring home a rabbit. So I'm going to play blood bag for you for a minute or two. And then we're going to talk. Okay?"

Her pulse had increased. I could see it as the blood flowed faster through that vein.

"I really hope this doesn't hurt…"

I reached out a tentative hand and touched her wrist. The blood pulsed even faster.

" _Please_ don't let this hurt…"

My mouth _ached_. I lifted her wrist to my mouth and without even thinking, I bit down. A sharp gasp was all that I could hear before the minty syrup smell took over the entirety of my being when it flared to live in my mouth. I swallowed, the taste of mint of my tongue and warmth cascading down my throat. My eyes slid shut as I groaned. The warmth and _life_ flowed into me as I sucked at the wrist through my…fangs. I had fangs. My fangs that had pierced the blonde's - _Lisa_ 's - wrist. And drawn blood. I was drinking blood.

 _I was drinking blood_!

Gasping, I released Lisa's hand and slammed my skull into the headboard and I pushed back from her. The wood rattled and a dull ache sprung into being in my head, though it thankfully died to a bare memory within moments. My eyes wide, I stared at Lisa as she examined her wrist, moving it around to see it from several angles.

"You know, I had expected that to hurt. It really didn't. At all. Not once you pierced the skin. It's gotta be something in your saliva. Not quite a numbing agent, it actually felt _good_ so…maybe a type of liquid pheromone? Or some sort of addictive agent? Weird. That's a hell of a useful side power there."

_Mild sedative and euphoric agents present in saliva._

Okay, so I had magic spit. Great. I grimaced. At least the minty scent - of her _blood_ \- was diminishing. It was still present, but not overpowering anymore.

Wait…how did I know I had magic spit?

"Healing agent too. The cuts are already closed. Actually, that's kinda neat. And not at all terrifying, nope."

 _Healing and euphoria reduce probability of victims reporting feeding_.

What the fuck?! Okay, ignore the whispers in your head. Phantom voices were never a good sign.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I was going to do that," I mumbled.

"Oh good you did get enough to feel better. So hi, I'm Lisa. Do you remember your name now?"

I stared at her, my mouth hanging slightly open. "I just _drank your blood_! You're not going to freak out or run away or yell at me?"

"Well I pretty much knew that your powers made you into a vampire, so…no?"

"Uh…okay…What?"

She shrugged. "You basically saved me from a fate worse than death when you were barely able to string two words together and you didn't attack me at all while you were _starving_. So I figure it wasn't too much of a stretch that you would be able to hold yourself back right now that you've had a bit of a rest. Feeling better?"

_Took you home for self preservation and to assuage feelings of guilt._

"A little," I paused and took stock. Yeah, most of the minor aches and pains that I had felt as I woke were already gone. But…"I don't remember much. I'm sorry, you told me your name, but I have no idea what mine is…"

Her eyes shut and she shook her head. She reached out for my hand. I started to flinch away, but she was quick and she grabbed a hold of me, squeezing my hands. "That's okay. I was able to track down enough about you to find out your name. And…a few more things. Your name is Taylor Hebert. I'm really sorry to be the one to tell you this Taylor, but your parents are…dead."

"Taylor," I whispered, testing the name out. It felt…right somehow. Then the rest of what Lisa had said registered. "My family is dead?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry." She squeezed me harder and her eyes dropped to the bedspread. "Your mother died a few years back. Your dad was…about two days ago."

"Two days? I…I don't remember. I should…remember that…"

Lisa bit her tongue, shaking her head.

 _You did not have a chance to discover Father's death. You were resting in the grave beside him_.

"I was _dead_ two days ago?! What the fuck?! What the fuck is _going_ _on_?!"

Lisa's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed as she searched mine. Then she gasped and shifted closer to me. "Holy shit! You took part of my power when you drank my blood! That's why my headache is almost gone and the whispers are quiet! Fucking hell, girl, that's _awesome_! And terrifying, but mostly awesome. Normally I need a few days to get used to terrifying, but damn. I have a vampire who can drain powers too!"

I frowned. "Isn't that a bad thing?"

Lisa shrugged. "Honestly, I'm just happy that if I have to donate blood again then I can have some measure of peace and quiet, my power can be very frustrating sometimes. But you're right, we should probably try to keep the power drain thing quiet. Most people don't really like Trumps much. It's still better than a Master power though. That said, the drinking living blood thing is probably going to be more trouble for everyone. We're going to have to be careful."

I swallowed hard as I stared at her. "You're a cape?" She nodded. "And…I'm one too?"

"Either that or you're some sorta weird genetic throwback species no one has ever heard of in the modern day. Either way, it doesn't really matter. You have powers now. Woohoo, congrats," she said, the emotion draining out of her voice as she finished.

She was definitely not selling me on the glory of cape abilities, that was for sure.

"Welcome to the world of getting fucked over no matter what you try and do. Join the Wards? Life of being paraded around like an ornament, never doing anything of note, never thinking for yourself, still in the line of fire if the shit hits the fan, but with little experience on how to _survive_. Join the Rogues? Welcome to just barely scraping by as the government tries to prevent you from making money any way possible so that you _have_ to join their groups. Go full Villain? Welcome to a life of constantly trying to avoid pissing off the wrong people while hoping you have enough followers to break you out of jail when the Heroes inevitably catch you at some point. Being a cape sucks."

_Used to adore powers. Used to adore the superiority inherent. Events of previous night have soured the experience._

"Yeah, I got that much." I shook my head and grimaced. "Can we go back to me being dead please?"

"I think your power took a while to fully heal you from your trigger. They thought you had died in the locker and - "

Locker. Dark. Bugs. Laughing. Pain. Everything hurt. Screaming. _Sophia_!

My lips pulled back from my teeth and I could feel my fangs descending as I snarled. "That fucking _bitch_ killed me!"

Lisa shifted her grip to my arms and squeezed hard enough that I knew it _should_ hurt. "Please calm down. I'm not fully sure what's happened to that girl but we can find out. Just…you're scaring me a bit, Taylor."

I squeezed my eyes shut and took several deep breaths, willing my fangs to recede. I didn't know how long it took, but finally, I was able to open my eyes and nod for Lisa to continue. She swallowed, but kept talking. "So from what I've been able to figure out, it looks like you were declared dead when Em-when they found you. I don't really know whether you're still technically dead, or undead, or 'frozen' like Alexandria supposedly is. But what I do know is that you have a hell of a healing factor. It was just slow when they first got you because it had a lot to fix and you hadn't, uh, fed yet."

"I needed blood."

"Yeah. So it worked, just really slow. They uh, buried you. That's happened before actually…People have been buried or cremated when they had healing powers that would save them. Every major mortuary is supposed to have Lazarus tables to stop that shit, but…"

"This is Brockton Bay and if something can go wrong, it _does_ ," I growled. "I don't even remember my name or my father, but I can remember that this town hates everyone in it."

"Amnesia is weird that way." Lisa sighed. "Do you want to know what happened to your dad?"

I scowled. "Yes."

"He tried to attack someone that he thought was responsible for your death. I think she sorta was, but she never intended it to go as far as it did. I actually ran into her during the day. She's not really in a good place. Anyway, the point is, he tried to attack her and her father took offense to that. The guy killed your dad. If it's any comfort he's in really hot water for it. And I'm…fairly certain that your dad was not intending to live out that night anyway. One way or the other."

I could feel my nails lengthening and my fangs ached. I shut my eyes and concentrated on my breathing. The same breathing that did absolutely nothing for me.

_Breathing is optional. Metabolism slowed. Regular blood transfusions maintain bodily functions._

I nodded. "Okay. So he didn't take my death well and I can't get revenge. So what _can_ I do?"

Lisa finally let my hands go and she smiled at me. "Well, that's what we need to figure out. You up for a bit of experimenting?"

I let my fangs descend as I returned her grin. "Lead the way."


	6. A Late Night Walk - Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I have finally finished Chapter Four of Vampire!Taylor! It's only taken me weeks of fiddling with it...It's still shorter than I would normally prefer, but it was a good stopping point.

**A Late Night Walk - Part 4**

"No. No, this is _gross_. I can't drink this."

Lisa frowned as she looked between me and the blood bag. "I don't get it. You were able to drink some of this the other night. I mean it wasn't ideal, but you could still use it for sustenance."

"Well it tastes like charcoal. Maybe it's doing something for me, but it's…I don't know. It's like it's dead or something."

Lisa sighed. "Well, it is a blood bag. So if you want to get technical, it's not living blood. Or at least not blood directly from a living critter. Man, there goes the easy option. I was hoping that 'not ideal' wouldn't be 'almost entirely unsuitable', but hey, we work with the hand we're dealt. Onto the small furry animals!"

"Wait, what?" I asked, my eyes widening and my nostrils flaring. Now that she mentioned it…I could detect a whiff of…fur and…fear in the air. I blinked. "I can smell fear?"

"You can - of course you can. Bullshit powers are bullshit." Lisa grunted and lifted a small carrier cage onto the kitchen counter. There was a partition in the middle separating it into two section. Inside was a rabbit on one portion and a large white rat on the other.

"I'm not killing a bunny." My mind rebelled and I took a step back even as my hands spasmed and lifted towards the cage on their own accord. I glared at my hands and dropped them back to my sides.

"Let's start with the rat," Lisa said gently. She opened the carrier and reached in to pull out the rat, leaving the rabbit secure.

The rat took one look at me and clung to Lisa's hand. I felt my fangs itch as I stared at it. "People have rats as pets as well."

"True. But I tried to get the ugliest one of the bunch. And, to be perfectly honest here, Taylor, while I would love to play mobile blood bag for you every once in a while if it gets rid of my power for a bit, it's not realistic. We both know I can't do that enough to sustain you; not if you can't eat regular food. I'm petite. I don't have enough blood in me. And I don't want to fully give up my power to you; just saying. A bit of peace and quiet is one thing, full on normality? No thanks."

I grimaced. "Well you'd be living with a vampire cape, 'normal' is out the question even if you didn't have powers." Shutting my eyes and trying - and failing - to suppress my groan, I reached out. "Fine. I'll try the rat. I'm sorry little guy." Even as my hand closed over it.

"Oh, I forgot to ask, you don't mind that I'm staying here for now do you?"

Lisa rolled her eyes and playfully slapped my shoulder. "Sweetie, you're like a live-in bodyguard, friend, and pet project all rolled into; no, I don't mind you crashing in my pad. Now stop stalling and eat the lab rat."

"I hate you," I muttered. She had the nerve to chuckle at my consternation. Taking a deep breath, I could _feel_ my fangs itch as the blood pumping beneath the skin of the small creature roared. It pulsed against my fingers, it raged against my ears, the heat was like a furnace in my hands, and I could even see the small pumping movements through my dilated eyes.

Leaning down, my teeth touched the back of its neck and the rat stilled in my hands. Warmth surged into my mouth. Shuddering, I gulped it down. This was nothing like the minty scent or the syrupy nirvana that Lisa's blood had been. This was…dull. There was life there, and satisfaction; but it was dim. It was _leagues_ better than the blood bag, but this wasn't bliss.

Pulling back, I set the still rat onto a paper towel and quickly stepped away from the counter. Wiping my arm across my lips I tried to ignore how things were suddenly ever so slightly _brighter_ and _sharper_. How the sounds around the apartment were so much _clearer_ and _louder_.

How I felt more _alive_.

"Oh that definitely helped."

I nodded, looking everywhere but at the still rat. "Yeah. It wasn't as, um, flavorful as yours and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be hungry again a lot sooner, but yeah, that does work."

"Okay, so we don't _need_ to prey on the homeless or the Nazis. Good to know!" Lisa crooned, her grin disturbingly fox-like as I snapped my head around to stare at her.

"What?!"

"Well it wasn't Plan A, Taylor, but it was like…Plan D."

" _What_?!" My eyes widened enough that any further and they would probably be falling out of my skull.

"Blood bags, bunnies," she said ticking off her fingers. "A harem of Renfields, homeless and Nazis! See, definitely bottom of the list."

"You are a horrible person," I whispered, my hands covering my mouth.

She laughed and slung an arm around my shoulders. "And yet I took home a vampire. Seriously, Taylor, I'm just trying to look out for you here. If you couldn't feed off of animals, you would've needed people. Willing donors would probably be hard to find outside one or two broken people." She gestured to herself. "And weirdos off the internet would need to be vetted first. So our options would have been limited. Acceptable targets is really the only decent stop gap solution to keep you alive in a worst-case scenario."

I moved my hands to my eyes and whimpered. "I don't want to eat people to live, Lisa."

"Hey, hey, it's okay, sweetie." She squeezed my shoulders and ruffled my hair. "You didn't hurt me when you drank my blood and we just figured out that animals are good to go. You'll be fine, Taylor. I promise."

I sniffled, leaning into her and letting her keep stroking my back while I breathed in her scent.

The minty smell of her blood was just so…relaxing…

\/\/\/\/

I swallowed, my hand shaking and shivers running up and down my back. I couldn't look away from the shaft of light streaming into the room from the window. It was too close. Too close, too hot, too close, too bright, too _close_.

"This is a bad idea, Lisa."

"We have to know, Taylor," she murmured, her steady hand on my arm felt like a vice. "Come on, just a few seconds."

"Everything in me is saying that this is going to hurt."

"I'm right here, sweetie."

"Please," I whispered.

"Taylor." Lisa stepped in front of me, standing between me and the ray of sunlight. I breathed out, letting my eyes slide shut for a moment and my shaking stilled. She covered my hand in both of hers and she gripped me tight. I opened my eyes again and she was holding my gaze, a small sheen over her green orbs. "If you don't want to do this, I'm not going to force you. But, Taylor, we really need to know how dangerous going out into the daylight is for you. You hit most of the vampire tropes: you're mildly allergic to garlic, you need blood regularly, you're pale as hell, you're more or less undead, you don't show up in silver mirrors…about the only classic thing that doesn't affect you is running water."

"So sunlight is going to be _bad_. Let's skip it and call it done." I kept my focus on her. I refused to look past her to the light. I wouldn't look at that brightness. I wouldn't.

"Tay, we _need_ to know. There's a huge continuum here. Maybe you'll only have a few issues, a bit of loss of power like with the original Dracula. That wouldn't be so bad at all would it?" She waited for me to shake my head before she continued. "And on the opposite end, maybe there's things like your hand bursting into flame. That's important information if that happens and a _very big_ safety tip to watch out for. That's why I have the fire extinguisher here, just in case." I nodded again, still not looking away from her eyes. "And right in the middle we have things like really bad sunburn, but sunburn can be blocked with strong suntan lotion."

"I'm scared, Lisa," I whispered.

"I know, sweetie, I know."

"Promise me that you won't run away - no matter what happens?"

"I promise."

I clenched my jaw and jerked my head. "Okay. Okay, let's-let's try."

Lisa smiled at me and moved her palms up to my bicep. "Remember, Taylor, don't panic. I'm _right here_."

I nodded. Then breathing in her minty scent, I stepped forward, pushing my hand into the light.

And everything devolved into pain.


	7. Hardlight - Chapter 1

**Warning:** Inappropriate language and views are present to a small degree in this ficlet. Nothing that these characters say is intended to represent my own views or feelings. Racism is _BAD_. Considering the current situation in America, there's…honestly probably never going to be a good time to post this idea for months or years, so please just regard the warning and don't take these views as my own.

 **Premise:** Kayden - Purity - is Danny's girlfriend. Her perspective has rubbed off on Taylor enough that when nothing is done after the locker incident, Taylor takes matters into her own hands.

_"Taylor…I think you went a bit too far…"  
"Bitch tried to murder me. Steal my friend and then try to kill me? Fuck her, she deserves this."_

******Hardlight**

Being gay in Brockton Bay, Nazi Capital of the US was hard.

Being gay and going to Winslow, School Gang Capital of Brockton Bay was harder.

Being gay at Winslow, in Brockton Bay, while living with your soon-to-be-Stepmother aka Purity was hardest.

Kayden liked to say how Purity was reformed and separate from the Empire Eighty Eight, but she was biased - because _of course_ she would defend her alter ego. And I _lived_ with her. I saw the casual racism she espoused. I would give her credit for at least _trying_ , but she still believed in the Empire's message. Even when she went out for her cape patrol she only ever targeted minorities. I didn't even think she realized it. Which just made it all worse - I think.

I constantly had to watch what I said about her so that she didn't realize my preference for the finer sex. My dad may accidentally mention it, but I sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up.

Because against my better judgement, I actually _liked_ Kayden. She was sweet, and she tried to look out for me, and she supported me and Dad. She was just _nice_. And that _sucked_. I wanted to hate her. I wanted to not care what she thought about me. But…I couldn't, and I _did_ care.

The one good thing about being gay in Winslow, with a Nazi-sympathizer for an almost stepmom…I knew where to look for the Empire members.

I'd had a good idea of who they were beforehand, self-preservation and all that. But now I was _sure_. I had managed to subtly grill her enough that I could pick out the hangers-on and the ringleaders. I knew who got things done in Winslow, who had the pull to make things happen.

I knew who I had to talk to.

I grit my teeth as I sighted in on my chosen target. This was my last chance to back out, and I already knew I wasn't going to take it. The gum on my pants and the juice in my hair had washed away whatever doubts I had when I had walked into school. No. I wasn't going to stop. If no one was going to do anything, then I was going to do it myself.

My dad probably would've been upset if he knew my plan. He would've yelled, then he would've pleaded, then he would've tried to make me feel guilty. Well fuck him. He started dating an openly racist and homophobic woman while _knowing_ I was a lesbian. He no longer had any right to make me feel guilty about talking to the fucking Empire assholes.

What would Kayden say if she knew? That thought almost froze me, until I really considered it. If I told her everything, she would probably go to Kaiser and get it fixed for me. And then he would use that as leverage to pull her back into his fold. I didn't want that. She may despise my sexuality, but she liked _me_ and I liked _her_. So no, I wasn't going to throw her back to wolves. Not when I could do this myself with the same results.

The lunch bell had just rang as I leaned against the wall beside the local leader of the Empire recruiters. I pulled out my phone and started thumbing through pictures. "I have information for you," I murmured out of the corner of my mouth.

The brute - Eric? let's go with Eric - nodded slightly and pulled out his own phone. "I'm listening."

"Did you hear about the thing with the locker from about three weeks back?"

He snorted, swiping up on his device to cover the amusement. "Girl, you're fucking famous. Of course I knew about the thing. What of it?"

"What if I told you that a black girl had been the one to shove me in there?"

"I'd say that's a dangerous thing for a black girl to do in this school, abusing a white girl and all."

"And what if I told you that it wasn't the first time she did something like that? That she's been the ringleader of a small gang set against me for almost a year and a half now. That she turned a proper white girl from my best friend into her bosom buddy and my arch-nemesis; all through her manipulations."

Eric frowned, the movements of his fingers slowing. "That is an impressive claim. Aren't you Jewish? How do I know you don't just have a grudge against this cunt? Maybe she said something wrong or tripped you."

I chuckled. "Oh she's tripped me before. And shoulder checked me. And pushed me down the stairs. Lots of other things too. And my grandmother was Jewish yes, but my family doesn't practice it. We stopped believing in God a long time ago."

The Nazi actually looked at me at that, his eyes narrowed. "Fair enough. But if this was that widespread, we'd have heard about it. The school would've done something. You're not in a gang; I'm assuming neither is the black girl since we don't have many Merchants here. The school would've done something visible against her at some point."

"My ex-friend's dad is a lawyer. I think Sophia is using her connection to him to get the school to leave her alone."

"Lawyer?"

" _Divorce_ lawyer. Funny, she always forgets to mention that part."

He chewed his tongue and turned back to his phone. "Why do you care now if she's been doing it for so long?"

"Fucking bitch tried to murder me by leaving me in that locker. And _no one cares_. The school didn't even suspend her, let alone expel her or worse. The police aren't doing shit either. I'm _done_ with sitting down and taking this. I can't fight back myself because then _I_ would be expelled. I want this _fixed_ and I want her to _pay_. I'm _done_ taking the high road."

Eric nodded. "Revenge then. Yeah I get that. This is a big deal though if things are as bad as you say for as long as you say."

"I have proof."

His foot slipped down the wall at that and I heard his knuckles crack as his fist clenched. "Proof? And the pigs still wouldn't do shit about it?"

"Yeah. What's your number? I'll send you photos."

He shook his head and leaned over to pluck my phone out of my hands. "No paper trail, girl. Rule 1. In this folder?"

"Yes." I scowled at how he just assumed he had permission to handle my phone. He could've at least asked. Now I didn't even have anything to pretend to be busy with. Thankfully he passed it back to me after a few seconds.

"You said Sophia. Sophia Hess? The track star?"

"Yes. That might be another reason that Blackwell doesn't want to do shit."

He snorted and shook his head. "Blackwell is a money-grubbing bitch. Pay her enough and she'll ignore anything that happens. I could shank someone in the secretary's office and unless someone else is directly watching me, she'd whistle and stroll right past. We'll take of this."

A weight lifted off my shoulders and a smile graced my features. "Thank you."

"Normally I'd ask for a favor in return, but we should've been aware of this earlier. This is partly on us for not stepping up to protect the right folks when we should've. You get a freebie here Hebert; it won't happen again."

"I understand."

"Go. Get out of here. I need to make some calls."

Nodding, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and pushed away from the wall. As I walked past the doors to the cafeteria, my eyes met Sophia's and I couldn't help the victorious smile that crossed my lips even as she frowned in confusion.

Steal my best friend then try to actively kill me for giggles? Let's see how you liked having the entire Empire come down on your ass.

I was not going to be a victim anymore. I was _done_.

* * *

My costume left quite a lot to be desired, but I was still hoarding my allowance for enough to buy something worthwhile. A white trench coat coupled with pale yellow gloves and an opera mask were going to have to be enough for now. I had managed to find a pair of white jeans roughly in my size too. The yellow pair I had been hoping for was just…far too small. Maybe if I had been a year or two younger, before I had hit my growth spurt. But definitely not now.

I grimaced as I passed a particularly reflective bit of scrap in the Boat Graveyard; I looked like Purity would if she had gone for knockoff costume pieces. Ugh. That wasn't what I had been aiming for. I should've tried this out back home. But the only full-length mirror was in the bathroom and I couldn't justify bringing my costume into the bathroom. Kayden already was suspicious enough of my evening 'runs'.

Dad was clueless like usual, but she probably suspected something. I'd tried to time my practice sessions for when she was gone on her own patrols, but they weren't regular enough so I kept messing it up.

Ah well, if she hadn't told us about her alter ego yet, then I certainly wasn't going to be discussing my own with her. Not until she came right out and asked.

Nobody was going to confuse me for her anyway. Not once my little minions got moving. Just because my minions were made of light, didn't mean that people would assume I was Purity. Right?

I shook my head and set off. Enough practice. It was time to do some good. And I would _not_ be going into ABB territory. I didn't want there being any _chance_ of someone deciding that I was aligned with the Empire. It was bad enough that I had given into my revenge urges and spoke with Eric. I needed to make up for that. If I could find some E88 goons that would be perfect. Or at least the Merchants. The drugs they peddled were destroying the city as much as the other two gangs.

It would be safer with the Merchants too. They couldn't call in backup like Hookwolf if things went sour. What the heck was Skidmark supposed to do? Throw shit at me? My minions would protect me from that easy enough. I had nothing to stop the heavy hitters with the Empire. I could probably take on Victor and Krieg without too many issues. But the giantesses and most of the others would likely straight up murder me if I annoyed them.

Well maybe not the valkyrie twins. Amazingly enough, they seemed to have a pretty good track record with holding back. Massive property damage, but few actual injuries or deaths where they were concerned.

I'd love to pit myself against Rune, but I doubted my minions could get to her. I hadn't figured out how to make my guys fly yet…Project for another time.

"Aww, looky here, boys! We got a newbie wandering around." I suppressed my groan at the voice coming from the alley on my right. I had gotten so consumed with my own thoughts, I had forgotten to actually _pay attention_ during my patrol. They were right, I was a newbie.

"So cape girl, you looking to score anything? We could help you out there." The speaker was disgusting. The smell wafting off of his clothes was making my eyes water and he was missing more teeth than he had in his mouth. And he was leering at me. So much _fun_. I should've gone to Empire territory after all…

"What part of my costume implies that I'd want to buy drugs off of you?" I asked. "I am legitimately curious, because I obviously need to change it."

The leader of their group of four barked out a laugh. "Girlie, nobody bothers with this area. Not with Squealer hanging around the warehouse. You either must be stupid or you're looking for a hit. Not the first time we've sold to capes."

Scowling I held up my hand. "I'm not here for your drugs. Well I _am_ here for your drugs, but I'm here to _arrest_ you and _confiscate_ your drugs for the police."

All four of them laughed this time. "Oh you poor kid. You are so out of your depth. Tell you what girlie, walk away and we'll forget this ever happened."

"Fuck it, I'm done letting assholes walk over me," I growled. I swiped my hand down and four vaguely humanoid minions burst into existence in front of me. They were about three feet tall, slightly portly, with a vague impression of curly hair on their head, and a pair of stubby wings sprouting from their backs. I'd tried to get cherubim but I couldn't really make their faces well. Still, the mini-wings had really done the trick with giving them an overall cute impression - as long as I squinted a bit and was feeling very generous. Each minion was made solely of bright white light which made them hurt to look at directly, for anyone who wasn't me at least. Despite being pure light, they were each very solid and had no issues with surging forward to grab for the men. One managed to avoid the grasp of my minions for a few seconds, yet I didn't even have to dive into the thing's mind and control it directly before it was able to catch the gang member.

All told, it took me about seven seconds to subdue them all. Smirking, I walked up to the leader. He was laid out on the ground with his arms wrenched behind his back by my construct. I tapped his head with my glove. "So, how do I measure up now? Don't underestimate a cape."

He just started to laugh, leaving me to push back to my feet and glance nervously around. "You seriously think we wouldn't take precautions you little cocksucker? Have fun dealing with the Boss Lady!"

"What?" I flipped my phone into my hand already starting to call the BBPD. The line rang once before I heard the motor from the next building. It sounded like a damn jet engine ramping up. My eyes widened and I stepped back off of the sidewalk. I could take Mush and Skidmark. Squealer though…would my minions be able to do _anything_ to her? Her vehicles were fucking _tanks_!

Someone asked for my information over the phone, and Squealer's vehicle tore through the flimsy metal covering the warehouse.

"Help," I squeaked into my phone. Thrusting it back into my pocket, I summoned more minions, nearly coating the street as I leaped backwards. The truck monster roared and spit as it twisted on its six ridiculously oversized tires turning to follow me. One of my minions jumped up to block the flamethrower and a second surged forward to try and attack the turret itself. That one was not successful and the minion that had blocked the fire exploded into sparkles as I dived out of the way. Another minion took its place covering me as more surged onto Squealer's tank. I scrambled to my feet, more and more sparkles surrounding me as I started to run. The tank followed, crunching minions underfoot.

How was she even able to _see_ through all of the light being thrown in her face as my minions died?! I made it three blocks before my breathing became a problem. The air was too hot thanks to the damn flames and I was gasping. I needed more cardio. Now I really wished some of my 'jogs' had been _actual_ jogs.

There was another dull roar, that I just barely managed to dive out of the way of against a building's wall as a bike surged past me. I looked back and saw Armsmaster's motorcycle cut along the side of Squealer's tank, his halberd extended and sweeping two of the four tires on that side.

Wait, four tires on one side? The thing only had six total before! Fucking tinkers and their bullshit transforming mecha monsters!

The flame turret finally fell quiescent as the tank popped out yet _more_ wheels, the ones that Armsmaster had slashed falling off. The roar from the tank increased even further, and I had to clap my hands over my ears as it surged ahead, gaining speed at a truly ludicrous rate. It was gone from my sight almost before I had realized that Squealer had fled.

Groaning at my aching head and the pain in my chest, I let most of the remaining minions vanish into sparkles, though I did grab one to squeeze to my chest for comfort as I turned to look for my savior. Maybe I hadn't been ready to go out. Ugh. God, I was never going to get over this. Goodbye confidence. Hello inferiority issues. _Again_. Fucking hell, my _first_ patrol and I had to call for help!

Armsmaster was off his bike, his halberd aimed at me, and his legs set wide. "You're trying to be better. Don't turn this into a fight."

Wait. What? "Um, hi?" Could he hear me? I could barely hear me. The noise of the damn tank was still ringing in my ears. Was I talking loud enough? Was I shouting? Fucking tinkers.

"You are on shaky ground as it is! Stop building your attack and we can both leave to pursue Squealer!"

"What? What attack?" I turned my head both ways, but I didn't see anyone else. "I'm not - "

"You had your chance." Armsmaster twisted his halberd and the head shot forward towards me on tiny rockets. I gasped and tried to stumble backwards but the head smashed through my minion, leaving sparkles surrounding me. The halberd bounced back from the impact, yet the rocket kept pushing it forward and the thing slammed into my chest, throwing me back into the wall of the nearby building. I had thought my chest was hurting before, now I could barely breathe through the pain. The halberd retracted and Armsmaster started walking towards me again, his halberd lowered and pointing straight at me.

My eyes widened and I summoned more minions between him and me. I arrayed them all into a line. One could stop almost anything I'd tried so far but if I had to stop a damn _rocket halberd_ , I'd need a shit ton of minions between it and me. 20 of them probably wouldn't be enough but it might help give me time to summon more. "Wait!" I shouted. Or tried to. My chest was hurting too much to scream and I wound up devolving into a coughing fit before I had gotten much of anything out.

Armsmaster took aim again, his halberd centered on my minion line. "I don't know how you've been able to stop your blasts, but I'm not going to give you the chance to attack me. Not after tonight's events!" He roared and the rocket surged forward again. I yelped and tried to dive to the side. My minion line died again and the halberd head embedded itself into the brick just above me. Thank god for blinding minion deaths. That would've caved in my chest!

I tried to shout again and wound up just coughing again. Armsmaster's halberd retracted and he sighted in on me. I didn't even have time to summon more minions before he fired.

And the halberd head vanished in a blaze of glory as a beam of pure light slammed into it from above. I goggled, only vaguely realizing that that blast might well have saved my life. Turning my eyes up, I groaned as I saw Purity hovering in the air, one hand pointed at the ground where the halberd had exploded and the other directed at Armsmaster.

Fuck.

" _You stupid fucking idiot! I'M PURITY! She's a KID!_ " she screamed. Armsmaster looked between me and Purity as she shouted. He sucked in a breath, his mouth nearly disappearing as his lips thinned.

Tilting his head up at Purity he lowered the remains of his halberd to his side. "This doesn't make…sense. She had light based abilities…"

"SO WHAT?! Don't they teach you to check your targets?! You nearly killed her!"

He scowled. "She should not have been roaming the streets. There was a brutal attack on one of the Wards earlier. The entire Protectorate has been dispatched. This is _not_ the night to be going on a patrol if you are unaffiliated."

I finally managed to get enough air into my lungs to shout as I pulled myself back to my feet. "Fuck you! How am I supposed to know one of the Wards was hurt? I was _trying_ to call in that I caught some Merchants before Squealer nearly set me on fire, and then _you shot me_!"

"I warned you to stop building up your attack," he snapped.

"I wasn't attacking! I summon hardlight constructs! I was _holding_ it because my chest hurt and it feels good to hold the things! Look." I gestured to my side and brought out one of my minions. It waved a pudgy hand in the air towards Armsmaster before I dismissed it in a flash of sparkles.

Purity dropped to the ground, walking over to me and laying her hand on my chest. "Let me deal with this," she murmured. I scowled, but nodded. "How bad is it?"

"Hurts like hell, but I can breath again."

"Do you need Panacea?"

"No, I've - " I cut off and shut my eyes. No. I was not a victim anymore. "I've been hurt worse."

Purity's hand clenched into a fist for a moment before she turned back to Armsmaster. "She's alright no thanks to you. Don't you have a villain to catch?"

He stared at Purity for several seconds before snapping his wrist to the side. The remains of his halberd closed into a small batton and he started walking towards us. Stopping just within arms reach of us, he sighed. "I am sorry. We are all on edge tonight. My reactions should only serve to prove that you should not be out on the streets alone. It is - dangerous."

"The Wards pitch? _Now_? After you nearly kill her? Suddenly I see why you people always send Miss Militia to talk with me."

Armsmaster scowled. "As I just stated: the streets are dangerous. She wouldn't even be working with me. I have very little to do with the Wards." He looked over Purity's shoulder to fix his gaze on me. "At least consider it. Call the PRT, or the Protectorate if you decide you want to hear more. The people you talk to will do a far better job of this than I have." A business card - an actual _business card_ \- shot from his gauntlet into his fingers.

Purity snatched it away, still scowling. "I rather doubt she'll be interested any more."

"All the same." He stepped back. "I recommend you go home. It's…safer."

I didn't dignify that with a response. I was going to have to burn the panties with his face on now.

Armsmaster just turned on his heel and stalked back to his bike. Once the sounds of the motorcycle had vanished, Purity turned to me.

"You and I need to have a _long_ talk."

Groaning, my head dropped to my chest and I cuddled a new minion. "Fuck."


	8. Hardlight - Chapter 2

_"Why are you being a good mom! I want to hate you!"_   
_"That sounds rather selfish, Taylor. Perhaps I should ground you? That's what moms do, right?"_

**Hardlight - Chapter 2**

"Your father is having a poker night with Alan, he won't be home for hours, now stop complaining."

I scowled as Kayden neatly marched me into the living with her hand on my shoulder, both of our costumes tucked away in her duffel bag. "Did you arrange that intentionally?" I snapped.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. " _Of course_ I did, Taylor. You go for a 'run' the night that a Ward gets beaten so bad she was almost killed?" She actually did the finger quotes. I had to stoke the fires of my anger to avoid blushing in embarrassment. "Did you seriously expect me to just let you go out alone without someone watching your back? Now get your shirt off and let me see your chest. I need to see how bad that hit was and if I should be calling Othala for a favor."

I didn't have to pretend to be angry at that comment. Free healing from a Nazi; no wonder she gave up on pushing for Panacea so easily. "If you were watching me the whole fucking time, why wait until Armsmaster nearly killed me for the third time before intervening?"

She grimaced and looked to the floor. "I was…I had gotten a call that's…rather hard to completely ignore. You were doing fine. You had just taken care of the druggies, I thought it would be fine to back off for a minute."

" _Kaiser_ called you," I snarled. Fucking hell why did I still _care_ what she thought?! She was still taking calls from the Nazi King of the Bay and had his personal healer on speed dial!

"Yes," she said. Her hand dropped and she shook her head. Fuck, why did she have to look so _sad_!? "Things aren't always black and white, Taylor. He was a part of my life for a long time. Longer than you probably suspect. When he called, I…I had to at least listen."

"You keep trying to say you're changed, yet you still take his calls. You're a fucking hypocrite, Kayden!"

She sank into the couch. "I know. But he doesn't just call in order to chat, Taylor. He calls when there is something I need to know about cape business. Like tonight. He was letting me know that the Protectorate was highly likely to be hunting for me."

"That doesn't make any sense at all," I spat. "Why would they be going after you? It's not like most of them can hurt you anyway!"

"Taylor," she sighed. "A lot of the Protectorate can hurt me. They don't because that's not how the politics are played. I'm powerful, but I'm not invincible. Right now, they're blaming the Empire for their Ward being hurt. Kaiser has pulled most of his people back and disavowed the assault. He claims they had no idea. A lot of the city still associates me with the Empire so, without them as targets, everyone is likely to blame me."

I threw myself into the armchair and glared at her. "They associate you with the Empire for good reason."

She met my eyes. "That's not my life anymore, Taylor."

"Could've fooled me."

She leaned back and clasped her hands between her legs. She almost seemed to wilt as she sighed, all of the fight leaving her body. "If you hate me so much, why aren't putting up more of a fight when Danny asks you how this thing has been going? You can run me out of this house with three words, Taylor."

My lips curled as I growled and slammed my fist onto the armrest of the chair wincing at the pain that radiated up my arm and my chest from the impact. "I _want_ to hate you. I _want_ to look at you and see a fucking Nazi! But you _try_ and you _care_ and you _ask me how my day is_! And _nobody else cares_!" She looked up at me, her eyes wide. Before she could say anything I kept ranting, "And then you go and casually insult the person bagging our groceries, or you shy away from the nice guy helping us load up the new washer, just because of their skin color! What am I supposed to think, Kayden? Tell me. Who am I supposed to see when I look at you? The nice woman who gives a shit about me or the casual racist who is barely paying lip service to having split from the Empire? You _still take Kaiser's calls_! You're not reformed! You're not throwing aside their beliefs! But you're the only person who even _tries_ to like me! I can't get rid of you because then I'll have _no one_! _AGAIN!_ "

I was breathing hard by the end of my rant and I screwed my eyes shut so I didn't have to look at her. Maybe if I kept them shut I could ignore the wet streaks on my sides of my face. I could pretend that I hadn't brought my knees to my chest and the sobbing was from the TV. The broken TV. The TV that I had broken when I tossed my backpack towards it yesterday. Sophia had got to me and I was angry and I broke our TV. Now we needed a new TV. A TV we couldn't afford before Kayden got here. Kayden the Nazi. Kayden who would leave if I kept ranting because then I'd tell who I _was_. Why couldn't I _stop_? Why was it so hard to breathe?

"Shhh, let it out. It's okay, Taylor, I'm right here."

The sobs got louder and I couldn't breathe. The warmth pressing into my face and my shoulders kept enveloping me and I clung to it.

"It's alright. It's alright."

"No it's not," I managed to gasp out. Kayden just held me.

Goddamn it. Why couldn't _one thing_ go right? Was that really so much to ask?

I didn't know how long I kept crying, but eventually my sniffles got under control and I pulled back from her embrace. Kayden was kneeling on the carpet, one hand still on my knee as she looked at me wiping my eyes and shoving my glasses back onto my face. "Taylor, I know I'm not perfect. I'm trying to be a better person. I really am. I…when I triggered…it was because of an attack by a group of Asian men who tried to rob the store I was shopping at. I didn't _intend_ to hold a grudge, to be afraid, but…I met a man, Max, shortly afterwards and the things that he said…They made sense. Because why else would those specific people have gone for that specific store? Why would they have targeted me and my friend when we were the only white people there? It made sense. It's hard to forget some of those lessons and those words, to move past the fear and the hate, because every time I think I have, something will happen, and I remember that store. I'm _trying_ , but you can't change a decade's worth of habits overnight."

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "How about this: if you let me help you learn how to be a hero, I'll let you help me learn how to be a better person. Okay? Does that sound like a fair deal?"

I bit back my first reply and took a shaky breath before trusting myself to speak. "Why do you _care_?"

"Care about you or care about being better?"

"Yes."

She smiled and chuckled. "Are you sure your mom was a language teacher? She could've been a mathematician with that answer." I just glared at her and she held up her hands in surrender. "I want to be better because you're right, I haven't been doing a fantastic job of proving that I don't agree with Max's beliefs anymore. He didn't even really believe them himself, but between what he kept saying and my own experiences." She let out a breath and looked toward the ceiling.

"I've met some good people on the other side of the divide since then and I was finally able to step back and take a long hard look at myself. I don't want to shy away from the tall, handsome teenager helping us out of the goodness of his heart. I don't want to think that a bag packer is a good job for a young black boy. That's not what good people think, and I want to be a good role model. I want you to look at me and be proud. I want others to look at Purity as someone they can respect. I want to help people, Taylor. I can't do that if I keep thinking that every minority is just one bad day away from armed robbery. That's not right, and I hate that Max convinced me that it was."

I nodded. It made sense. It made horrible, horrible sense. I couldn't really expect her to throw away half a lifetime's worth of fear and habits in a month could I?

I _should_ be able to expect that…

"And I care about you, because you're my family now, Taylor. It's as simple as that."

"You're not married to my dad," I muttered.

"True, but that doesn't particularly matter to me. You're still the daughter I never had."

I snorted. "What, so if dad left before you tied the knot, you'd still be here the next morning?"

"Yes, I would."

That brought me up short and I narrowed my eyes as I focused on her. "Why?"

"I just told you. You're my family, and I care. I'm not going anywhere. If Danny disappears one day, I'll still be here. If things don't work out between us, you can still always come to me no matter what."

" _Why_?!"

She shook her head, shrugged one shoulder, and reached out to squeeze my hand. "Some things don't have good answers, Taylor. I'm sorry I can't explain it better. You'll understand one day."

I scowled at that, but I didn't shake her hand away. "You're seriously leaving me with that cliche?"

She laughed in earnest. "Oh sweetie, some cliches are actually very appropriate."

"What if…" I trailed off and clutched at her hand as my head dropped to my chest. "What if I told you that I wasn't who you thought I was? That I was…someone else?"

"Taylor honey, I think I already know that you're a cape." I tried to chuckle at her joke, but the sound died in my throat, coming out more of a wheeze. "Taylor, you don't have to tell me what has you so upset, but know that whatever it is, it doesn't change anything. I'm still going to be right here for you if you ever need me. Tell me now, tell me in a year, tell me in a decade; it doesn't matter."

"It does…" I whispered.

"It _doesn't_. I'm still not going anywhere."

I almost told her. I almost said it. Two words and I could lay it bare and make her put her money where her mouth was.

_She's a Nazi sympathizer. She's trying, but her instinct is still there._

I took a gasping breath and pulled my hand back clutching it to my chest. "I can't. I'm sorry, I _can't_."

"And that's _okay_ , it's okay to feel like that." She stood and leaned forward to hug me again. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes again, but I pushed them down with a titanic effort of will. I was not going to cry. Not again. "How about we talk about something else?" I nodded into her chest and she pulled back, moving to sit on the couch again. "You need to know some things about being a cape, if you're going to keep going out. And I need to tell you what I know about the Ward so something like tonight doesn't happen again."

I wiped at my nose and nodded. "How did Armsmaster even mistake me for you? I don't fly, my minions don't look at all like a beam of light. It doesn't make sense."

Kayden winced. "Armsmaster is not very good at dealing with people and the attack likely has him on edge. He's a bit of a glory hound - it's an open secret - and he's probably taking this personally; that he can't protect his own people…it reflects poorly on him."

"So…if he was looking for you in particular…"

"Someone in a white costume, that's very hard to see clearly, is very tall, and has a distinct glow around their arms? In a stressful situation, Taylor, that person would look a lot like me, even just standing on the ground."

I shook my head. "No, my minions look like _cherubs_! They wouldn't make me glow like that."

She winced. "Taylor, I've been watching you practice for the past week. Your light constructs are very hard to see clearly, even when they are not moving."

"They…are?"

" _Very_ hard. They're too bright."

"It's just a dim glow though…I already toned it down a lot from when I first summoned one and…Oh. Crap."

She smiled at me, even if it looked more like a grimace. "You can see through them can't you? The light doesn't affect you at all does it?"

"I thought I compensated for that," I mumbled.

"Not enough sweetie. We can work on it. That's why it's better to test your powers with others. They can find the blind spots that you have regarding your own abilities."

"Oh god, this is so embarrassing…"

"It happens to all of us, Taylor." She patted my arm again, then took a deep breath. "Now, current events, then we go over the basic rules for being a cape."

"Why does the Protectorate think the Empire hurt the guy?" I asked. "I mean, I hate them, but Kaiser's not stupid. He doesn't go after Wards, not even Lung wants that kind of heat."

She frowned. "Why do you think it's a guy?"

I shrugged. "Well the only female Wards are Vista and Shadow Stalker. Vista would've been on the news if she'd been hurt - everyone loves her, even most of the villains. Shadow Stalker is…she wouldn't have been caught by gangbangers. The forums mostly agree that she's a bitch, but she's a competent bitch. She knows what she's doing and she's good at it. I've seen the number of arrests she has."

Kayden sighed. "They went after her in her civilian identity."

I blinked.

"We don't attack capes without masks on. It's not done. Once you start attacking each other out of costume, it sets a bad precedent. Powers are like having a gun that you can't see and that can't be taken away from you. If people can't trust that someone won't point their power at them without lethal intent, then the only safe way to interact with that person is to try to kill them before they can try to kill you."

"That's…stupid," I said. "Being a hero or villain isn't just about having a mask."

She nodded. "Yes, but that's why there are the unwritten rules. Escalation just makes everything worse, and we can't ever really de-escalate when it comes to powers."

Kayden paused, some complicated emotion crossing her face. "That's why Armsmaster would attack someone he thought was me on sight, he doesn't really trust that I won't attack him, and with a Ward being beaten half to death? With the PRT blaming the Empire? Well I can understand that reaction from him."

"But that sort of reaction would get so many innocent people hurt. That's not heroic!"

"True, and sometimes innocents are caught in the cross-fire. Like you tonight. But we still have the rules. Because we need a way to keep our lives separate. We would never be able to _live_ if we have to constantly look over our shoulders for an attack every moment of the day. It's not perfect, but it works. Somewhat. Some people will disregard the rule if they think they can get away with it, or if their target has played fast and loose with boundaries in the past, or if, like Lung, they simply have enough power to be left alone."

I clenched my fist and frowned. "That's why you don't attack Empire targets…"

"I don't want Kaiser or any of the others to use the excuse that I'm using my knowledge of their identities outside the cape world to attack them inside it. I doubt he would come after you or Danny for real, but…"

"He would use it against you," I said, sighing. This was why I hadn't gone to her for help with Sophia. If she attacked the Empire and he twisted it to her being aggressive; he knew her name. He'd use us against her to get her back on his side in a heartbeat. "So what? The Protectorate and PRT are assuming that someone found out Shadow Stalker's civilian identity and attacked her then, because they couldn't get her while she was in costume?"

"That's the theory. I don't particularly think it holds much water though."

"Why?" I asked.

Kayden sighed. "I'm not being racist when I say this, Taylor, so please don't think I am. Shadow Stalker was apparently a black girl. The people who targeted her were probably Empire Eighty Eight members. It could very well be that she was just - "

"Walking down the wrong street," I finished, nearly growling.

"Yes. However, from what Kaiser said, I don't think it was that simple. They knew where she lived, so it was targeted to some degree. Yet, that's much like saying that the ABB targets young girls for its brothels. Maybe she pissed someone off and they followed her home one day, getting their friends together afterwards. It doesn't take much to incite some people."

An icy knot coiled in my stomach. "Why wouldn't she just fight back?"

"From what I understand, she did. She beat down several of them before they took her down. But, she's still a cape, she wouldn't want to expose herself if she could avoid it. She waited until near the end of the attack before she finally showed her power."

I had talked to Eric that morning.

"So shouldn't she have just won at that point?" I asked, my mouth dry. "Shadow Stalker has a breaker state."

Sophia was a black girl.

"Kaiser said that one of the people had brought a taser. He was new, when she went into her Breaker form he didn't pull back, he panicked and he shocked her. Her breaker state had a bad reaction to it."

Sophia was a bitch.

"They pulled out immediately, the ringleader called the PRT as soon as they were out of the house. He stayed on the line long enough to advise them where she was, that she was unconscious, and that they were not aware she was a cape."

Shadow Stalker was a bitch.

"The Protectorate and PRT are claiming that account can't be trusted. They say it was targeted and not only are they on high alert, but they are using that to target the Empire as a whole now. Except Kaiser confirmed the events to me earlier. He's a manipulative asshole, but he's never outright lied to me."

Sophia got away with everything at Winslow…she had free reign of the school…because…

"I don't think they knew who they were confronting. I think it was just a very bad coincidence. That's not an excuse, but it does paint things in a very different light. A war could very well erupt because a group of people with a grudge went after the worst target, completely by accident."

I had a grudge…

"So anyone even tangentially associated with the Empire Eighty Eight are under the spotlight now. I'm going to have to be very careful for the next few weeks. You too if we can't get your light show toned down to something more easily recognizable."

Oh god…

"But none of this is your fault, Taylor. You just chose a bad night to get started. It's okay, we all have bad dice rolls sometimes."

 _I_ had done this.

"I'm going to show you how to get back out there; and how to do it safely. Okay?"

 _Sophia_ was a _Hero_. She was a _Ward_.

Eric was going to call me out. He was going to name me as the instigator.

I had started a war…because I wanted revenge.


	9. Hardlight - Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thanks again to my beta Grey Raven 09 for his assistance! So this mini-series is probably about to be split off since it's long enough to warrant it now...

_"_ _So…this is not how I planned to spend a mother-daughter afternoon."  
"_ _I would honestly be happy if I could just stop crying every five minutes…_ _"_

**Hardlight - Chapter 3**

"Hebert."

My heart nearly smashed its way out of my chest, even as I was able to restrain myself to simply looking over my shoulder and nodding. "Eric."

"Things went bad. Not your fault, it's ours for not doing our research. Unfortunately it escalated when I was called in by up high. I had to give your name as the informant."

I was going to have a heart attack. It was going to happen. "So the police will be…"

He shook his head, lips set in a grim line. "Not the police, Hebert. I suggest you lie low for a few days. Maybe a month or two. Find some family to stay with out of state."

"Why do you care?"

"You asked for help. We provided. It's not right they're going to use this against you to save face. The Empire exists to help people like you. For what it's worth, I'm sorry, but I still gotta look out for myself. Get out of town if you can Hebert. It'll blow over in a few weeks, always does." He paused before he moved away from me, seeming to war with himself for a moment before grunting and continuing on. "When Hess gets back, stay away from her. She's very well connected."

"Thanks for the warnings," I said, my mouth dry. "I appreciate the attempt."

"Wish it was worth more. This isn't the Empire I joined; I just wanted to protect folks from Lung's assholes and the other lowlifes, not to blame victims. Good luck, Hebert."

He left and I stared at the clock on the wall. It was barely five minutes into lunch. Emma had been withdrawn all day and Madison was too confused to do anything on her own. But now…did I want to stay here? I should leave. I should leave before school ended. If I waited and then left with everyone else would Kaiser be waiting for me outside? Would the PRT? Kaiser didn't know I was a parahuman, but that didn't mean he wouldn't grab me and throw me to the wolves to save his Empire from being accused. I'd be at the mercy of the PRT for ordering a hit on their _precious little Sophia_.

I ground my teeth at the injustice of it all. The Empire was probably going to kick me to the curb for having the gall to ask for the _wrong_ person to be beaten up; the PRT was going to crucify me for attacking one of their people; Lung might've helped me if I looked remotely Asian, but as it was…Maybe I could impress him? There were rumors that if someone impressed him enough he would just 'declare' they were Asian and that would be that.

But I didn't want to _be_ in a gang! I wanted to make things _better_ in this city! And instead I was touching off the powder keg. And it wasn't even because of something I'd done in costume!

The bell rang.

Fuck this.

Maybe I could live with grandma.

* * *

"Taylor?"

My eyes shut and I had to suppress a groan as I closed the door to our house. Of course Kayden was home. That was just how my luck worked these days. I couldn't even stew in depression by myself anymore.

"Yeah, it's me."

She came around the corner of the living room stopping just out of reach. I noticed the slight release of tension as her shoulders dropped once her eyes had raked over me.

_Checking for bullying evidence_.

Goddammit, why did she have to be a _good_ mother?! As much as my mind rebelled against it, a small smile flitted across my lips as I set my backpack down and waved to her. "Hi."

"Hello yourself. Did something happen?"

I walked past her and dropped onto the couch, pulling a minion up and playing with its makeshift hair as it sat on my lap. I just grunted as Kayden sat down next to me.

"Taylor, I can't help if you don't talk to me." I grunted again. "Okay, how about we work on your projections instead? I can help you tone down the luminosity so that others can actually see what they look like?"

I frowned. "I already turned it down. It's still too bright?"

"It's better. I mean it's not blinding anymore. But most people would still have to squint."

"Damn," I sighed. "Sometimes powers suck. How about now?" The inner glow of my cherub dimmed to almost nothing as far as I was concerned. It was barely as bright as a light bulb now.

"That is _much_ better, Taylor. And - " she stopped and her eyes widened. She held a hand over her mouth, which did very little to diminish her chuckles. "Are you brushing its hair?"

"I'm _styling_ its hair. Shifting their appearances is a lot easier if I sculpt them manually. Then I just dismiss them and resummon them and the rest all look like the new template. I can change them on the fly without manual sculpting, but it's more difficult. And they are still cuddly so I _like_ doing it like this."

"It doesn't hurt? I saw those things take a beating the other night."

I shook my head. "Not when I'm going slow like this. There's some sort of threshold where they shift from soft and strong to unstoppable and brittle."

"That's an interesting way to describe it," Kayden said, reaching out to poke the side of the cherub. My minion grinned at her and its mouth opened in silent laughter even as I held it steady between my legs and turned its hair into little spikes.

"Anime? Hmm, definitely not a mohawk. Bowl-cut isn't going to fly for these guys either. Yeah, anime it is." I pulled out more spikes as I mulled over her words. "They can hold or lift a lot more than their size implies. It only took six to lift a car and I can make like 50 at a time. I'm also getting better so I think I'll be able to summon more as I get more used to it. Pretty sure I can have a few different templates at once too. But I don't think I can do more than one template summon at the same time."

"That makes sense. What about them being brittle?"

"They can take a hit, but it's like it fritzs them out. They're an immovable object for those big hits, but once they're knocked out it takes me a little while to be able to resummon that broken one. It's good for meat shields though. And honestly unless someone is firing an automatic at me, I'd give myself good odds on being able to resummon any busted minions before I start to come close to running out."

"Hmm," she hummed. "Very strong defense, decent offense. A nice combination."

"Yeah. Once I get better at least. If I hadn't panicked the other night I would've realized I could've just had them pick up Squealer's car. Then I wouldn't have had to be rescued. They're fairly independent once summoned, but not enough that they could figure that out on their own."

"Well you've only had your powers for three weeks Taylor. You can't expect to be an expert overnight."

I sighed and nodded. Finally satisfied with the hair on my minion, I shifted to its wings, pulling them out slightly and emphasizing the curve. "I know. I know. I just…I'm probably not going to get the chance anymore. This whole thing fucking _sucks_."

Kayden laid her hand on my shoulder. "Taylor, what happened at school?"

"I…When does Dad get home?"

"He texted to say his meeting is running late. He won't be back until well after dinner."

"I…I did something bad. Please, please don't tell him." Was that my voice? Since when did I sound so weak and pathetic?

"I won't. What happened?"

I stopped playing with the wings of my minion and wrapped my arms around it squeezing it to my chest and shutting my eyes. "I asked the Empire grunts to get Sophia off my back."

The pressure of Kayden's hand on my shoulder increased, but she let up almost fast enough that I was able to convince myself I had imagined it. Almost. "Oh. Sophia was the b-err, track star right?"

"You don't have to pretend you don't remember her, Kayden. I remember when Carol Dallon came to the hospital and told you she couldn't take the case. I…I remember that very well."

Kayden winced. "I didn't realize you were awake at that point."

"I know."

The silence stretched out between us before Kayden, sighing, leaned over to hug me. I didn't open my eyes, but I did lean into her ever so slightly. "And the Protectorate's Ward was beaten up the night you asked for help."

"Yes," I whispered. My voice was cracking. Perfect.

"Well, I suppose this answers quite a few concerns I've had surrounding this whole thing for the past few months."

"I…The guy I talked to…He said he had to tell his bosses who asked him to hurt her. Kaiser's going to come after me! He's going to hurt me and say that they found the person and that I had nothing to do with the Empire just to save their asses! Or _worse_ he's going to give me to the Protectorate and they'll throw me in jail! I can't even get _revenge_ without Sophia _fucking up my entire life_!"

And now I was crying. I was crying half into Kayden's shirt and half into my minion's spiky hair.

I missed my mom…

"Shh, it's okay, Taylor, it's okay."

"It's _not_! Kaiser knows my name and if he doesn't use it against me then he'll just use it against _you_! None of this is okay! I just - I just wanted her to _STOP_! I wanted someone to make her feel small and hurt like I felt. I wanted her to know that she wasn't untouchable but now _I'm_ the one who's going to get in even more trouble because _fucking Sophia Hess_ has powerful friends!"

Kayden kissed the top of my head, her arm tightening and pushing my minion into my chest even more, letting its warmth flow into me. "Things are never that simple, Taylor. It's going to be alright. I'm going to fix this."

" _How_?!"

"I have an idea. You're going to have to trust me though and - " She cut off as a knock on the front door sounded out like a gunshot. I stopped breathing as I pulled back and stared at Kayden, my eyes wide as saucers.

"Stay here," she murmured, standing up, her face set in a firmly neutral frown. "And dismiss your buddy."

I gasped and hurriedly nodded as my minion vanished into a flurry of glittering sparkles. The knock rang out again as Kayden walked back over to the front door. This was it. This was the PRT coming to take me away. Could I make it to the window before they got in? Would it matter? Should I run upstairs and hide before they came in? I was still supposed to be at school so that could work. But what if they just waited for me to get home? What if - the door creaked open grinding my thoughts to a halt.

"Hello, how can I help - _Max_ ," Kayden's polite greeting dissolved into a veritable hiss and I locked up even further. One of her Nazi buddies. So _not_ the PRT. _Worse_.

"Oh Kayden, sweetheart, is that any way to greet an old friend?" He even sounded like an asshole. How did someone sound that _slimy_? Did he practice?

"What the hell are you doing here, Max?"

"I can't just come to say hello?"

"Most ex-boyfriends tend to stay away from the new fiancé's residence, Max. Something about it being threatening, or emasculating, I can't really remember which."

Ex-boyfriend? But…that…

"Come now, Kay, did our time together mean so little to you that you've degraded me to a simple 'boyfriend'? We were married after all."

"That didn't stop you from sleeping with the other girls," Kayden snarled.

"I was always quite open that you were more than willing to partake of the bounty on offer." A small thump sounded and his voice lowered, the amusement gone from his tone. "Now, are you going to let me in so we can discuss business? Or do I need to come back in another guise?"

Kayden snarled and I could feel the door slam open through the wall of the living room. "Just get in here and say what you have to say then get out of my home, Max."

"Gladly." And just like that he was all smiles again. Snake. Goddamn _snake_. "Now where is your living room? It has been so long since I have seen such a _quaint_ abode! I find myself intrigued. I simply must have a look around!"

"We can stay in the kitchen, Max. You don't get the luxury of an armchair here."

"You used to have such good manners, Kayden. You see what happens when you leave to go and live with the rabble?"

Why was he pushing so hard? Why was he needling her like that without - I gasped and my hands curled into fists on my knees. _My backpack_.

I barely had time to string the thought together before 'Max' was walking around the entry wall. His grin went from slimy to shark-like in an instant. "Ah, see, you don't even introduce me! And this is the sprog I assume? Taylor Hebert if I'm not mistaken? Such a _pleasure_ to meet you Miss Hebert."

My blood turned to ice as he smirked and held out his hand. I just stared at it unable to move a muscle. Then Kayden was there, her hand on his chest and pushing him back before she fell back to stand in front of me. "Stay away from my daughter. Taylor, go upstairs. Now what do you _want_ , Max?"

I had barely pushed myself to my feet before Max's grin widened even further and he chuckled. "Oh please, my dear, stay. This conversation has to do with you as well I believe. From what a little birdie tells me, you've been rather naughty."

Kayden snarled and her hand snapped up to level at Max's chest. "Don't you _dare_ bring her into this. This is between you and me."

"On the contrary, Mrs. Anders." I scowled at that name and Kayden's hand started to glow. "Taylor has _everything_ to do with this. After all, I can't very well protect her from the wrath of the people who would seek to do her harm…not without _your_ assistance now can I?"

"Say your fucking piece and get out," she spat.

"Surely you've heard of the recent _unfortunate_ events? Why from what I am given to understand, Taylor was right there at the center of that entire mess. As things stand, she has quite a target over her head. Between the PRT looking for their villain, the ABB looking to induct another grunt, and the Empire seeking whoever is staining their good name…Poor Taylor has set nearly the entirety of the Bay against her, through…one…simple… _mistake_."

He wasn't even lying. My stomach twisted and all I wanted to do was call forth a minion or ten.

"No one is going to _touch_ her," Kayden hissed. She didn't raise her voice. She didn't move so much as a muscle. "You know who I am. I will make this city _bleed_ before I let anyone _near_ her, Max."

"I'm sure you would," he said. He stepped forward, pressing his chest into her hand, his shirt starting to sizzle as he did. His voice dropped all pretense of playfulness and his eyes narrowed. "The narrative can easily change, Kayden. Instead of being the rogue white girl playing on the prejudice of those around her to incite revenge, she could be the embattled victim. The one at the end of her rope with nowhere to turn who was simply _desperate_ for help against the psychopathic _Ward_ that was tormenting her. A few words is all it takes to get everyone behind her."

"And all you want in return is _Purity_."

I don't think I had really _believed_ that Kayden was trying to distance herself from the Empire. Not until this moment. Not until I heard the venom and scorn and sheer hatred in that single word. She had been talking a good game and she had promised to do better. But at the end of the day…once a Nazi, always a Nazi right? And yet now…I could barely breathe as I tried to process just how much she despised her past.

"Don't wait too long to respond, Kayden," Max said, the smile creeping back onto his face. "Brockton Bay is fickle. I can only keep the dogs in the kennel for so long." He stepped back and straightened his singed shirt. "Choose wisely. For your daughter's sake. Besides, I think she would do well in our group - she does what needs to be done. That's certainly better than my own son." He nodded once, his smile as wide as when I first laid eyes on him. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hebert. Kayden, I expect I'll be seeing you soon. Good day to you both."

As he walked out of sight and the front door closed again, I was finally able to draw a shaky breath.

"Taylor, get your backpack. We're going for a drive."

* * *

As the building loomed into view ahead of the car, I clutched arms around myself harder. "This is not a good idea. This is not a good idea _at all_. Please, please can we go back?"

Kayden pulled into the parking lot, shut the car off, and turned to me. She didn't try to touch me, she just kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the divider in the space between us. Open, but not pushing.

"Taylor, K-Max was exaggerating, yes, but he was not wrong. He has the power to follow through on his threat. Both of them."

"Both?"

She frowned then shook her head. "Don't worry about the second. That's my concern. The point is that he can make our lives exceedingly difficult. Realistically, we have two options right now. The first is to walk through those doors, and see how things play out. The second, is to go back home and make some…difficult calls. I'll protect you as best I can, but Max is unlikely to let you sit in the background. You've 'impressed' him. That's not a good thing when he's looking for a successor stronger than my step-son."

"Theo seemed nice the one time we met…"

"He is. And that's the problem. He's not ruthless like Max wants. He's never going to please Max. You however, while completely unaffiliated with anyone else, and without going through Purity, asked for help with the beat down of a Ward. Whether you knew it at the time is immaterial. You were willing to accept what came of asking for the Empire help. He can work with that. He's not going to let you slip away if I walk back to him to protect you. And - "

"If I have to be that close to him then he's going to find out about my powers and he's going to make sure that Kaiser conscripts me," I finished. I needed my minions.

Kayden nodded. "Yes. In all honesty, if we're not going to join them, Kaiser finding out that you are a parahuman would keep you _safer_."

" _What_?!"

Kayden grimaced and said, "There are certain 'rules' that capes tend to follow when dealing with other capes. One of those is not attacking capes in their civilian lives and keeping things constrained to in-costume battles. Currently Max is implying that you don't fall under those protections and that you are free game for his associates. That shouldn't be true anyway considering my relationship with your father, but because he's not going after me, he's going after a regular human - and not someone of my blood at that - it's enough of a distinction that Kaiser would be able to talk around the issue. He specializes in talking. So yes, them finding out you are a cape would, paradoxically, be _good_ because it would make attacking you at home when I am not around anathema."

I winced. "Oh. But…what if we just leave the state? I know that grandma doesn't like you, but I'm sure if Dad and - um, no actually, she hates Dad too…I'm sure if _I_ asked, she would let us stay with her for a few weeks."

Kayden shook her head. "If Kaiser wants Purity, he's going to get Purity no matter what state she is in, Taylor. With something like this over my head, he wouldn't have any qualms about sending messengers to New York to drive the point home."

"So we're just screwed no matter what."

"No. Not necessarily. We have options, they are just limited. We _can_ go home. I hate to say it, but you _would_ do very well in the Empire, Taylor." I barely had time to snarl before she continued. "We could try to change it from within, make it better. Bide our time, work on the people who are open to being something, some _one_ else. I can name two right off the bat and a lot of the rank of file are just there because they don't want to be at Lung or the Merchant's mercies."

"But you don't want to do that," I stated.

Kayden sighed. "I see how you look at me sometimes, Taylor. I want to be _better_. If I go back there…back to _Max_ …even if I stayed with your father, it wouldn't matter. He'd get into my head again and make me remember why I'm always _afraid_ whenever I see a large black man. He'd make me remember why I cringe at seeing an Asian in a hoodie. If I go back to the Empire, I'll become what you hate again. I'm honest enough with myself to acknowledge that. I don't want that."

My eyes dropped to my clasped hands. "I…I can't join the Empire…They would kill me…" I murmured.

Kayden sighed. "Taylor, you're a young, strong, intelligent white girl. They would never even think of laying a finger on - "

"I'm a lesbian," I whispered. The sound didn't even feel like it was loud enough to escape my lips, yet it was like a cannon blast had sounded in the car.

She cut off, her teeth clicking as her mouth snapped shut. Silence reigned. I couldn't lift my head to look at her. I couldn't do anything but squeeze my hands tighter, trying to ignore the stinging in my eyes. I needed my cherubs. I needed to hold something. I needed -

"Oh sweetie." Her arms wrapped around me and pulled me against her chest for the second time that day. My breath hitched, the stinging in my eyes blocked out my vision. "So _that's_ what you've been so worked up about. I guess I can understand why you didn't say anything."

"Dad _knows_!" I gasped out. "He _knows_! I told him _three years ago_! I told him that I wanted to marry my best friend and I told him I wasn't joking and I made sure he _understood_ when _I_ understood! And then he started dating _you_! You're ex-Empire. You're an ex-Nazi! He _knows_ I'm gay and he started dating a _fucking ex-Nazi_! And I still get _why_ he did because you're _cool_!" I couldn't stop my tears from running down my face anymore as I reached for great gulps of air. "Now your Nazi ex-husband is trying to force you to go back because I asked _more_ Nazis for help! I _can't_ join the Empire! I can't _stop_ being a lesbian! I-I-I can't - I don't…"

"Shh, it's okay. I told you, I know how we can fix all of this."

I pulled back from her snarling. "You can't _fix_ \- "

"NOT what I meant!" Kayden shouted over me, holding her hands up. My scowl slowly fell away and she dropped her hands back to the center console. "I know you can't help who you love. I was never…Taylor I, yes, I was a Nazi. But even when I was with the Empire I didn't, I didn't agree with all of their philosophies. I was - I _am_ \- afraid of black men and Asians. I never had any problems with anyone else. It's part of why I left to begin with. I…I got tired of trying to pretend to agree with people's comments and I…The point is, I don't care who you love, Taylor. And I'm not saying that just because it's _you_ instead of some random stranger. I just _don't care_."

"So…when you say you can fix…'this'…"

"I mean that I have a general idea of how to get us out of having to join the Empire _and_ having to join the Protectorate/Wards."

"But," I said, frowning as I turned to stare at the PRT building. "You said that these were our only two options."

"I never said I intended to join up here, Taylor. We just need to _talk_ to them. Please, trust me; for just a little bit longer. Okay?"

I looked back to Kayden, wiping away the film on my eyes with the back of my hand. I nodded. "Okay."

* * *

I fidgeted in the rigid office seat. This was so incredibly uncomfortable. The plate of cookies and coffee sitting on the table in front of me did nothing to assuage that discomfort. If anything, it exasperated it. Why were the cookies still hot? Did they have random rooms already set up with cookies and coffee just in case someone came in and asked to speak to the Director and the local heads of the Protectorate-ENE?

"Why is it taking so long?" I asked. I had to stop myself from reaching for the cookie. They smelled so good and I could really use the pick-me-up. But I wouldn't do it. I was enough of a mess as it was. Between my worthless clothes, wet spots on my shirt, and my puffy eyes…No. I did not need to add _crumbs_ to the list of reasons why I looked pathetic.

"Well, at least some of them were probably on the Rig. And I imagine the Director is rather busy herself. We didn't exactly make an appointment," Kayden said, chuckling.

"No, you did not." I turned towards the raspy voice at the door. The woman there was short, yet large. Large in a way that wasn't quite 'fat', but more like 'unhealthy'. At least the pallor and unhealthy bunching to her skin implied that. Her eyes however, were not remotely dim. They were cold and calculating, and they centered on me seeming to drill into my very soul.

I already disliked this woman and she had barely stepped into the room. This was going to go _great_.

"Good afternoon," the woman said as she shuffled to a seat across from us. The small sigh she gave as she settled was almost imperceptible. "I am Director Emily Piggot of the PRT-ENE branch. This is my colleague - "

"Miss Militia!" I gasped as the older woman stepped into the room as well. She smiled at me, and nodded as she settled into the seat next to Director Piggot. I couldn't see her mouth around the bandana, but her eyes were smiling.

I still had a lunch box with her face on it.

"That's correct, Miss. It's nice to meet you." I could only nod in reply.

A tall, well-built teenager walked in a moment later, he smiled at me too and sat down to Miss Militia's side. "Hello. I'm Aegis. It's a pleasure."

I gulped as my face heated up. I'd seen him around, he was basically the perfect hero. He and Gallant were the two I had tried to base my alternate persona off of. He wasn't going to like me very much after this meeting was over. Neither was Miss Militia. My head dropped to the table and I clasped my hands, forcing myself not to summon a minion and refusing to let myself start to cry again. I had set myself onto this path. I was going to have to deal with the consequences. They had reason to hate me.

"I told you, you did not have to wait," another gruff voice sounded from near the door. My eyes widened as my head snapped up and I saw Armsmaster standing to the side of the table, his halberd planted on the floor. "It was difficult to pause mid-step. You could have started with just Miss Militia."

"And I decided to wait instead," Director Piggot replied, her scowl increasing.

Armsmaster was here. Why was Armsmaster here? He was - oh, fuck, he was head of the Protectorate, _not_ Miss Militia. How had I forgotten that? I rubbed my chest as I dropped my gaze back to the table and tried not to remember how much it had hurt when that halberd had smashed into me.

Kayden squeezed my other hand and I took a shuddering breath, nodding once. "Good afternoon everyone," she said. "I apologize for requesting the meeting like this. I realize it is unusual, but our circumstances were rather extreme and I felt it more prudent to be inconvenient over expedient."

The Director inclined her head. "I am told that you have information regarding the recent assault on Shadow Stalker."

"We do. However, context is important so, before I explain what we know about Shadow Stalker, I need to explain why my daughter is here as well."

Director Piggot all but rolled eyes and waved her hand for Kayden to proceed. I grimaced as she started to talk. "Taylor and Sophia Hess went to the same high school. They had a mutual friend as well."

"Sophia had friends?" Aegis blurted out.

I couldn't stop the small snort of laughter at that. At least I wasn't the only one who hated the bitch. "One. Emma. She…She twisted Emma."

"Taylor." I quieted at Kayden's soft prompt and just nodded. "As I was saying, they had a mutual friend. Something changed about two years ago. Emma withdrew from Taylor and focused solely on Miss Hess."

Director Piggot shook her head. "I fail to see how the politics of children has any relevance to the current situation."

"Because it's my _life_!" I snapped. Kayden squeezed my hand again and I fell silent, dropping my head back to the table.

"It's important for context and to show Miss Hess' character," Kayden said.

"Ma'am, no offense," Aegis cut in, "but we all are very aware of her character. She's a bitch, but she means well."

"Aegis." The Director's word wasn't loud, but it had the Ward leader sighing.

"Director, if you didn't want me to interject my observations on Shadow Stalker you shouldn't have invited me to this meeting. She is literally the reason why we are sitting here and I have had more interactions with her than any of the three of you. I apologize for the cursing, but it is true and obviously what these folks are aiming for."

My one hand was curled into a fist, I was scowling, and my breaths were short harsh pants. "Sophia did not _mean well_."

"Taylor!"

"She was - "

" _Taylor_!"

I bit my tongue and pulled my hand from Kayden's grasp. I couldn't breath. I couldn't see the table in front of me. The scars on my leg itched. I grasped at the scars on my arm. I couldn't breathe and the bugs were back and it was too tight and _nobody was going to do anything and she was going to get away with it again_ -

Light flared into being on the table in front of me. I barely registered the sound of a chair being pushed back as the cherub pulled at my arm, lifted it away from the scars and burrowing into my chest. I gasped, finally finding the air around me and pulled the minion tighter against me, burying my head in its spiky hair.

" _Cherub_ ," Armsmaster gasped. "And _Purity_!"

"Hardlight," I murmured into the minion. No one listened to me and I didn't have the strength to say it louder. My scars itched.

" _Armsmaster_!" Miss Militia hissed. Aegis groaned and there was a dull metallic slap. The Director didn't say anything.

"Congratulations, Mr. Obvious," Kayden said, sighing. I felt her arm settle on my back, but just clutched at the minion harder. "Taylor, I have your medicine if you need any."

I shook my head. "I'm okay."

"You're not." She kissed my head. "Let me know if he's not enough to calm down, okay?" I nodded.

"I apologize, she hasn't had many panic attacks recently. It's only been a few weeks, but we thought it was getting better."

"She's your daughter?" Director Piggot asked. I didn't have to look up to see her scowl.

"Step-daughter. At least she will be in a few weeks. My fiancé is her father."

"I see."

"She does not share my old views."

"I see."

Miss Militia put her hands up, shaking her head. "Let's all just take a step back and try to get back onto the topic at hand, please. Ms. Anders, you were - "

"Russel," Kayden corrected. "I go by my maiden name for the moment."

"Ms. Russel then, you were saying that Sophia Hess had pulled Taylor's friend away from her?"

"Yes. After Emma and Sophia became friends, Emma's behavior changed. She and Taylor used to be inseparable. This was before I entered the picture, however I've seen the home videos, the pictures, and I've spoken with the girl's mother and sister as well. Once Sophia was present, Emma immediately cut Taylor out of her life. As you so clearly stated, I am a parahuman so please do not mistake me when I say that the degree of the change and the suddenness would have me extremely concerned for Master effects if I was not aware of Sophia's alternate identity. In fact when I first learned of all these circumstances that was what I started checking into at the outset."

"And I'm certain her skin color had absolutely nothing to do with it," Director Piggot sneered.

"Actually, I hadn't even seen a photo of Sophia at that point, so _no_ it did not. And I would challenge you not to anything you could to protect _your_ daughter."

Armsmaster stepped forward, a frown evident from what little was visible of his face. "We are all aware that Shadow Stalker cannot Master anyone. So what relevance does that have?"

"Again, context." Kayden sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "The point is that Emma, at Sophia's urging, initiated a two year long bullying campaign against Taylor. Well, that's what Taylor calls it anyway."

Director Piggot grunted, waving her hand. "And what do you call it then?"

"Criminal harassment and assault. Not to mention attempted homicide."

All four PRT personnel stopped moving at that. I winced, ducking my head back into the cherub. "It was just bullying…"

"I have a ream of text emails that take up over 15 MBs worth of data filled with threatening messages, insults, belittlement, urges to commit suicide, etc. Fifteen. Megabytes. Do you have any idea of how _large_ that is for simple _text_? She had to change email addresses _four times_ and Sophia's cadre still managed to find her new mail and send additional items."

Aegis winced. "That…sounds like Sophia."

"She also regularly punched and tripped Taylor during school. Including while they were running full out on the track which could have resulted in broken bones. _And_ including pushing her down the stairs which could have _killed_ her."

Armsmaster's mouth had nearly disappeared as he looked at Kayden. "Those are heavy allegations."

"Sir," Aegis said, his voice quiet, "that…also sounds like Sophia."

"I haven't even gotten started," Kayden said, a vindictive snarl flitting across her face. "And I have photos that Taylor took herself after each incident along with journal entries of every date it happened. One of the worst psychological events was when Sophia's group stole a flute that Taylor's mother had left her after she died. They desecrated it, then destroyed it in front of her. It was quite possibly the only thing she had left of her mother."

Miss Militia shook her head even as her power kept shifting forms under her hands on the tabletop. "They broke into your house?"

"I brought it to school with me," I whispered. All eyes focused on my and I stared at the table, clinging to my cherub. "It was a safety net. Something to remind me of her. Remind me why I wanted to be _better_ than them…I left it in my locker. I should've known not to do that. They had stolen things from my locker before. It was supposed to be locked, but even when things were stolen nobody had ever unlocked it. I even bought a lock of my own so no one in the school would know the combination but…that never stopped Sophia. Makes sense now."

Miss Militia cursed and Armsmaster went even more rigid. Kayden nodded. "Skipping ahead, Taylor's grades were affected, not just due to the harassment, but also because of stolen school work and destroyed projects. Quite a few of her clothes and possessions have been utterly ruined because of glue, gum, or juice. The school flat out refuses to provide any additional materials for her as they have blamed her for the continual damage to the textbooks. But all of this pales in comparison to the incident three weeks ago which is when I became heavily involved."

Director Piggot started to say something when Armsmaster cut her off. "January 3rd, Hazardous Material was found in a school locker along with a girl trapped inside." He focused on me as Aegis sucked in a breath and Miss Militia's power flipped through so many forms it was just a greenish blur. "The estimate was 8 hours."

I could only nod. Kayden squeezed my shoulder and said, "I started making calls when she didn't come home after school. Sophia had filled Taylor's locker with used tampons, rotting garbage, several still bloody needles and other assorted items. We found her two hours after school let out because a janitor happened to walk by and notice the smell."

Director Piggot's scowl was almost frightening with the intensity. "Why are we _just_ hearing about this now?"

"That's a very good question and one that I very much would like the answer to. You see, after Taylor was hospitalized, I started talking to several lawyers and the school. Each attorney dropped the case within days of starting their investigations. Only one at least had the decency to come and tell me in person why. All they said was that everyone involved was warned of higher personnel taking point and that if their own cases were not dropped, the firms would be investigated for 'interfering with government business'." The scorn in Kayden's voice could cut steel.

My hands shook and I squeezed my minion, my eyes slammed shut as my mind flashed back to that hospital.

\/\/

" _I am sorry. I would pursue this on my own, however I've been expressly warned off of using Firm assets. Unfortunately, I simply do not have the personal time to do this without the Firm's backing. I can make some recommendations, but it will require significant upfront costs if you choose to pursue them due to these odd circumstances."_

" _We can't pay for that right now."_

" _Then I am truly sorry, but it looks like the perpetrator is not going to face many consequences. I'll forward my list in case you change your mind. Come along Victoria, I believe your sister is done for the day."_

**Destination.**

\/\/

I whimpered, and another, smaller cherub popped into existence, settling on my head as it hugged me. "Kayden. Can I have those pills please?" I whispered.

As she passed them over, Miss Militia's eyes tracked my second minion. "Ah. That explains why we didn't detect anything originally…"

Kayden cleared her throat and Miss Militia met her eyes. I could see the blush spread across the tops of her cheeks. "Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't - "

"Yes. Moving on. As Miss Militia just realized, Sophia was not going to be punished at all for this last incident where she tried to kill Taylor and Taylor did not react well to that. I was still making inquiries, however Taylor herself was not aware of this."

"Where was her _father_ during all of this?" Aegis blurted out. "I mean, you're…well…why are _you_ the one doing all of this?"

My minion squeezed my head as Kayden sighed. "My fiancé has clinical depression. It is difficult for him to perform many functions outside of his work. We're…dealing with it. I've stepped up in the meantime to provide assistance with everything else."

Director Piggot had focused on something else that Kayden had said and her eyes were narrowed to thin slits. "What happened two days ago Miss Russel? What did your daughter do?"

"Sophia was still harassing her at school. She was still lording over Taylor how nothing had happened to her, how nothing _would_ happen. She was gloating and preening about how she was planning even more if Taylor kept coming back. So, unaware that I was trying to resolve things, presented with implicit evidence that the school either supported Sophia or did not care, knowing the police had already dropped the investigation, and seeing only that no one was going to do _anything_ regarding the girl who attempted to murder her…She spoke with several of the Empire Eighty Eight recruiters at the school."

Aegis gasped. Miss Militia's eyes shut and she hung her head. Director Piggot's scowl, impossibly, deepened further. Only Armsmaster's reaction was any surprise: he gave a small, curt nod. "Understandable."

All heads turned to look at him.

" _What_?" the Director hissed. Aegis and Miss Militia were both too shocked to say much of anything.

"It is not the choice I would have taken, but I have tools she does not, and even at her age, I was a muscular man. In her position, with no other recourse and all legal forms of protection exhausted…I can see why she thought the gangs were the only solutions."

"The Empire is _never_ \- "

"The Empire is a presence in the Bay, Director. We have not wiped them out. We have not wiped out the ABB. We have not even wiped out the Merchants. Frankly, I'm surprised that Miss Hebert did not resort to violence earlier. Whether her own weapons or the Empire's proxy weapons, under trigger conditions, it was simply a matter of time."

Kayden uttered a mirthless laugh as I took a deep, shuddering breath. "Well, what do you know, the heroes can learn."

Director Piggot turned to Kayden. "We do everything we can for this cesspit. The powder keg can be lit by the smallest action and then _everyone_ suffers Miss Russel. We make the best of bad situations every day. If you dislike how the status quo has fallen, then perhaps you should be attacking some of your previous associates whenever you decide to stop being a mother for the evening."

Kayden growled as she leaned across the table. "Attack the people who know my name and my face and where I sleep? Attack the people with _Hookwolf_ at their beck and call? Attack the people who would have a grudge against me the very _moment_ I made the slightest move against them? _Those_ people Director? Perhaps I should just shoot my new family myself hmm? It would certainly be faster and kinder than whatever that rabid dog would do to them!"

"Kayden," I whispered.

She leaned back and took a deep breath letting it out slowly as she ran a hand through her hair. "I apologize. I understand your position. I have recently been taken to task by my daughter for my unknowing lingering racism as well. I am… _trying_."

"Do better," Director Piggot stated.

"Watch over your Wards better," Kayden shot back.

Aegis rapped his hand on the table. "Excuse me, but I would like to clarify something. Taylor, did you specifically ask for Sophia to be injured or killed?"

I shrank into the chair under his gaze. "I just wanted her to leave me alone. I showed Eric some of my proof that she had been attacking me and asked him to make her stop…I thought Emma's dad was protecting her…I thought if they scared her enough that it showed people could still get to her even with Mr. Barnes shielding her she'd back off…"

Miss Militia rubbed at her temples. "So you asked Empire members to attack a black girl in an effort to protect yourself?"

"I didn't actually ask them to attack her…I just…told them she was attacking me…"

"So by implication, yes," Director Piggot grunted. "This entire situation is a goddamn nightmare from all sides. Miss Russel, what do you hope to get out of this meeting? Are you aiming for a Wards membership for Miss Hebert and some sort of deal for yourself? I can tell you right off that should we start entertaining that, you would need a complete rebrand."

Kayden shook her head. "No. I primarily wanted Taylor's side of the story told before other parties brought forward their versions."

Director Piggot's eyes narrowed again. "Before Sophia Hess has a chance to tell her side you mean."

"No," Armsmaster stated. He was scowling again. "Kaiser is using this to threaten you. He's a smart man and if he has her name and knows the two of you are related; it's a perfect storm for him."

"He is." Kayden nodded. "I don't want to go back and Taylor has no interest in joining the Empire. We would have been forced into it however, should he have tried to play his hand and set the entire city against us."

Aegis grimaced. "Two parahumans for the low price of media manipulation? I could see that. Why didn't he do it immediately? Why give you a chance to come here first?"

"Kaiser doesn't know I'm a cape," I said, my voice a little stronger than earlier. "He sent Kayden's ex-husband to intimidate her, but she's the only one who knew I was a cape before I freaked out here."

"Ah. Yes, that makes more sense," Armsmaster said.

"Taylor has also expressed minimal interest in joining the Wards at the moment," Kayden stated. "She is concerned both with Sophia's actions as well as Armsmaster's overreaction to her first night out. I don't fully disagree with either of those concerns."

Director Piggot's hand clenched into a fist before slowly relaxing. "You realize that I should be browbeating you into convincing her to accept do you not?"

"I do. However we are both smart enough to realize that should you try that tactic I will make a media stink about this whole rotten incident. I should also be able to get Mrs. Dallon back on the case since I now know _why_ people were told to drop it. We're not saying that we are intending to be villains. Far from it. I'm fairly certain that Taylor would bring me in herself if I go that route again."

I didn't speak. I honestly had no idea how I would react if something like that happened now…

"We just want to be recognized as Independents. I imagine that once Taylor has had some time to calm down and get used to her powers and the situation in the Bay she will likely change her mind. When she does, I'll come to you as well. We ask for time and that's it."

Director Piggot scowled. "Your daughter asked for racist gang members to beat up a fellow student. I can't just let that go without any punishment."

"And had _anyone_ in this organization been doing their jobs Taylor would never have had to take such an extreme action. By all means try to punish her, I know exactly what I have to do now and who I have to find in order to get my suits pushed through."

The Director just shook her head. "You can't even sign the paperwork for her to be registered as an Independent. It needs a parental signature for minors."

"I am Taylor's mother."

" _Step_ -mother. And not even that at this point in time. Even if you _were_ her _step_ -mother it _still_ wouldn't be enough," Director Piggot said. "You would have to formally adopt her or have a - "

"Power of Attorney to act in her father's stead in all parental matters related to Taylor?" Kayden asked smiling. My eyes widened as she pulled a paper from her bag and slid it across the table towards Director Piggot. "As I said, my fiancé is not well, and I have taken over quite a few matters regarding Taylor from him."

The Director's lips actually lifted into a small, almost-smile for a brief instant as she shook her head. "You're smarter than I expected Purity."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, shall we see about that paperwork?"


	10. The Last of Worm

**Premise:** The Simurgh attacks Brockton Bay and Taylor/Emma/Madison/Sophia are thrown through into the world of The Last of Us. As the transfer portal closes, the heroes lose access to their powers. Taylor has to find a way home while trying to survive in this world and decide whether or not she wants to try to help Emma/Madison to survive here.

_"_ _That kid could save the world!"  
"_ _Over. My. Dead. Body"_

**The Last of Worm**

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, _FUCK_!" I shouted as we ran towards the door out of the school.

"Please stop saying that!" Madison whimpered, her hands over her head as she followed on my heels. Emma was practically being dragged by Shadow Stalker; my ex-best friend was not remotely suited to running. Bully for her. An Endbringer attack was the _perfect_ time to practice one's cardio.

"Skitter! Where is she?" Shadow Stalker demanded.

" _Right over us_!" I yelled back. "Come on, the front doors are this way!"

"I know where the fucking doors to the school are!"

"How the fuck do you know that? Don't you go to Arcadia?"

"Less talking bitch, more running!"

Another boom rang out as Legend hit the Simurgh with _something_. It retaliated, tossing another piece of debris towards him. "Down!" I screamed, throwing my arms out to stop the others as her shot went wide and crashed through the roof in front of us.

"Why did she throw you both here? Why didn't we get any warning? Why is this _happening_?!" Emma sobbed. She clung onto Shadow Stalker's arm like a drowning girl. I almost felt bad for her - at least before the screaming in my head picked up again.

"I didn't get _thrown_ here Red," Stalker snapped. "I lost my damn footing on the fucking piece of rock."

"That we were both on and that the Simurgh threw," I said. "The bitch threw us here. Get over it. I don't know or care why these two shits were here, but it doesn't matter. If the Simurgh wanted us in the school we need to get _out_."

"No shit." Stalker paused then nodded. "Gym. There's a side entrance in the gym."

"Let's just use one of the windows? Why can't we use one of the windows?" Madison asked, tears streaming down her face.

I shook my head. "Most of the windows are blocked by debris. So are the emergency exits. The gym exit is closer."

Stalker scowled. "She's _herding_ us. Can you contact the other fighters? My armband is dead."

"So's mine. Stay or go? I can track her from here, but…"

"Yeah, I don't like this either. I say we make a run for it. I'm not dying like a trapped rat."

I nodded and took off again towards the gym, Stalker on my heels. Madison and Emma following behind us. Thankfully, we managed to make it to the side entrance without further problems. I held up my hand as we clustered at the exit.

"What the hell are you stopping for, Skitter? We need to get back into the fight. Red and Hairclips can get to the closest shelter on their own from here. We can't babysit them back when the fucking Endbringer is right outside!"

I shook my head. "Shelter will never let them in. But that's not why I'm stopping. She's outside dueling with Eidolon, a piece of Tinkertech is in the air behind her. It's pointed at the door."

"Oh god…" Emma moaned.

"We'll go once someone knocks it out of the way. Eidolon is charging something up. Get ready. On my signal…NOW!"

The four of us lunged, smashing the doors open and surging into the parking lot. As soon as we cleared the threshold, Eidolon's blast smashed into the circular halo at the back of the Simurgh's device. I froze in horror as her face split into a grin, the thing lit up blue and green, and it flipped around, the barrel end pointing directly at me.

She casually dodged another laser from Legend and swatted Alexandria out of the air with a negligent backhand. Then the backhand turned into a small wave directed at us, and her smile widened further. The gun discharged, a circular hole tearing out from the end and surging towards us. Madison moaned, Emma sobbed, Stalker snarled.

I could only stare at the grass overgrowing the buildings on the other side as the portal engulfed us.

* * *

"Are you seriously going to just sit there staring into the sky for forever?" Emma asked, sighing. She had gotten some of her haughtiness back. Such fun. "It's been three hours. They're not going to open whatever fucking door sent us here so _let's go_."

"Go _where_?" Madison asked. She was sitting next to me, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. At least she had stopped crying. "Where are we supposed to go Emma? _Where_?! Everything is dead!"

"Technically everything is alive," Stalker muttered. "Just not the _people_. Fuck this. Skitter, get your ass up. We need to find a place to bunk down. It's going to be dark soon."

I didn't move. I couldn't move. I could only keep staring at the street in front of us. The empty street in front of us. The empty street where there had been a portal that swallowed the world.

"Skitter, let's fucking _go_. I'm not happy about working with a villain, but if we're the only four people alive in this city then I'll take what I can get. What do your bugs tell you? Obviously we haven't disturbed anyone yet, but I don't trust that to last. What do you see?"

"Nothing," I whispered.

Stalker grunted. "Perfect. The flying bitch sent us to an empty world. I never actually _wished_ I was a tinker before, but god right now I'd give my fucking arm to have Kid Win trapped here with us."

"They're gone," I whispered.

Emma snorted. I didn't have to look at her to know she was rolling her eyes. "Yes, we've established that. Now can we _go_?"

"No…I mean…they're _gone_. The bugs."

Madison glanced at me. "Even the _bugs_ have died? Oh god. Oh god, oh god, what if it's a virus? What if we're already infected?!"

I held out my hand, a bumblebee perched atop it. "I can't feel it…It's _all gone_!" I said. My voice may have raised a few octaves by the last word, but I really couldn't bring myself to care. I could only stare helplessly at the empty street and the stubbornly independent bee.

Stalker froze as she stared at my hand. Her eyes slowly raised to look at me. "All of them?"

I just nodded. I hadn't been forced to deal completely with my own emotions for months and not being able to offload a portion of the despair and futility into my swarm was close to bringing me to tears.

Stalker shut her eyes, and a moment later they opened so wide I had a brief instant where I thought they would pop out of her skull. She stumbled backwards, raising her hands in front of her face and just staring at them. Then she started cursing and raging. It was actually impressive some of the words that she knew. Dad would've loved it. She could probably teach him a few new ones actually.

Oh god, we were so very, very screwed.

* * *

We had managed to get into the local version of Winslow. It was easy with parts of it rotted away into nothing. It had been harder finding the drama room and finding enough cloth that wasn't rotten so that we could form makeshift sleeping pads.

I had just sat down on mine when I groaned and looked to Stalker. She had stretched out on her bed of old clothes as well. We stared at each other and both cursed at the same time.

"What? What's wrong?" Emma asked, looking between us.

"They can't sleep with their masks on," Madison said. She grimaced. "I um…I know that Emma and I aren't exactly part of the cape scene, but I promise I'll be quiet about who you are if you, er, you know…"

Stalker shook her head. "I'm not demasking to a fucking villain."

I scowled. "I think we have bigger concerns over hero and villain right now, Stalker. Besides, it's honestly not _you_ I'm leery of unmasking to."

Madison frowned. "Wait? _Me_? Why? I mean, yeah I write risque fanfiction but…"

"We can wait until the Protectorate gets us back."

"No, we can't." I sighed. "If they were going to get us back they would have done it by now. No one knows how the Simurgh does what she does. We have to find our own tinker on this side or figure out some other way back. We can't stay masked the entire fucking time. As much as I wish we _could_ , we just _can't_. We're going to be here for weeks at minimum, but more likely months or years if everywhere is as dead as this place."

"Motherfucking sonofabitch," Stalker spat. She looked up and glared at me. "You're supposed to be unhinged, not fucking _reasonable_."

"Funny, I remember hearing the same thing about a certain ex-vigilante."

She just glared.

Emma shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Um, if we're all going to be stuck together for…weeks, can we at least _try_ to get along? Please? I don't…I don't want to be alone…"

"Man up Emma," Stalker said, her eyes never leaving me. "On three?"

"Whatever makes you feel better, Princess," I responded, rolling my eyes and reaching up to grab the attachments for my helmet.

"One. Two. Three."

Dead silence filled the room as we all just stared at each other.

Then someone started to laugh.

By the time I realized it was me, I had nearly passed out from lack of air.

It was official, even the Simurgh personally hated me.


	11. A Bloody Reflection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Please be warned, this is a fair bit darker than my usual flair. If I ever do more than this, this would probably be the dark before the dawn chapter.

**Premise:** Sophia egged on the group of boys a bit too strongly. They were a bit too fast. Emma and Sophia were a bit too close to the resulting assault. And Emma…realizes she may have chosen the wrong friend.

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorryI'm sorryI'msorryI'msorryImsorry…"_

**A Bloody Reflection**

"See! I _told you_ she was strong! She's fighting back!" Emma didn't even try to fight against the warmth that was blooming in her chest or stop the grin from spreading over her face.

Sophia in contrast seemed to be barely breathing as she murmured, "She's not supposed to fight…"

"Taylor's always been stronger than me. _Much_ stronger."

"It's Hebert…why is she fighting?"

Emma just nodded and pointed out the car window. "Now go save her Hero. Things are about to get too far."

"I can't…"

The warmth in Emma's chest fled and like a switch flipped, the blood in her veins turned to ice. "Go save her, Sophia."

"…I don't have my costume," Sophia's voice was barely above a whisper and her eyes never left the four football players as they held Taylor down just past the mouth of the alley.

"Sophia, this isn't funny. Go _save her_." Emma couldn't stop staring at her hero, her cape, her friend. This was a joke. This was a bad joke. She'd _finally_ proven that Taylor was worthy of being her friend and Sophia was trying to make a joke.

Sophia was never good at jokes.

"It's _Hebert_. She's not supposed to _fight_. She's _prey_. Prey doesn't fight!"

"Go save her Sophia."

"Prey _runs_. She's _been_ running. I've _seen_ her run. She's _fast_. I didn't take my suit. Prey doesn't fight. Prey runs…"

"I have a mask. Go save her Sophia."

"I'm wearing the same clothes I was when I bribed the fuckers…I _can't_ go out there, Emma. We…we should call the police."

Emma turned back to the alley. One of the boys was bleeding down his arm where Taylor had bitten him. She could just barely see the glinting of the blood in the dim light. The others were laughing. Her arms were over her head and the one of them had gotten their hands on her jeans. "The police will never get here fast enough," Emma whispered, her eyes wide.

"I'll call…Militia. She's fast. She has a motorcycle. She'll…she'll be here fast. I didn't think…"

Emma wasn't sure when she decided to reach across the seat and grab Sophia's backpack, one moment it was on the floor, the next it was in her hands and the zipper was opened.

"Emma, what are you doing?"

"I'm saving my friend." Was that her voice? She usually had some sort of inflection to her statements. A slight warble, a mild keen, a carefully modulated pout…all of that was typical. Why was her voice so soft, so sure? So…dead? Her hand closed around Sophia's knife and she dropped the backpack.

"Emma, you can't go out there."

"I'm saving my friend." She pulled the door handle and started to step out as Sophia grabbed her arm.

" _Kid Win_ gave me that knife," Sophia hissed. "You can't go out there with that!"

Emma stared at Sophia's hand. Her gaze lifted to the boys in the alley. They were still laughing, but the bleeding one had dropped to his knees, and had a blade in his hand. Emma looked back to Sophia. In the same dead - yes, dead was right, definitely dead - tone as before she stated, "I'm saving my friend. Let go."

Sophia's eyes widened, her gaze locked with Emma's. Her hand fell away. Emma turned and started to stalk forward. She couldn't run. If she ran they would see her. They would notice. She would spook them if she ran. She needed to walk, to stalk, to _surprise_.

She was only three steps behind the bleeding one before any of them had bothered to look at her more than once. The boy kneeling on Taylor's hand with a hand over her mouth turned to stare at her, a smirk on his face. "Hey, Barnes. Stick around, there's more than enough of us for you too."

Emma didn't say anything. She stalked the last foot that she needed to cross. A scream cut through the alley. The bleeder's blade fell to the ground with a dull clank. Emma slashed out again. Another scream rang through the night and a dull thud sounded as the bleeder dropped, motionless. The one holding Taylor's leg started to lunge for her. Emma jerked her hand forward. A third scream sounded. The boy fell back. The other two scrambled away with him, deeper into the alley.

Emma held the knife forward, pointing it at the three boys as she dropped to one knee next to Taylor. Taylor had already gotten into a sitting position, her knees pulled up to her chest and her back smashing against the wall, the discarded blade from the bleeder held in her shaking hand and the gag in her mouth discarded on the ground. Emma spared one more glance at Taylor as she shifted to kneel between her best friend and the sadists. "Leave."

"You fucking pyscho bitch!" One of the trio snarled. Was he the one that she had already stabbed? He was holding his shoulder. Maybe.

"Leave."

" _Fuck you_!" They ran toward the girls. Taylor shouted, and Emma pushed off with her back foot propelling herself forward.

"You. Will. Not. Touch. Her." Each word was punctuated with a slash of the knife. Each swing flinging more blood into the air as the leader of the brutes fell to the alley ground. Emma lifted the knife and tried to take a step towards the last two. Both were too close. She didn't have enough leverage and she didn't know how to fight like Sophia.

One got an arm wrapped around her elbow and jerked her hand back. The other flung his fist towards her head. She snapped her mouth forward. If she couldn't stab them, she would bite their fingers off instead.

The blood from the walls coalesced into a shield in front of her and the brute's hand smashed into it. He screamed, falling back onto his ass, cradling his hand. The blood shield formed into a spear and shot to Emma's side. She twisted her head and just barely managed to catch sight of the blood spear shooting through the chest of the brute who had grabbed her arm. A gurgle passed his lips and he slumped down the wall next to her. Emma turned back to the last brute. She stepped forward, raising the knife one final time.

The corpse of the bleeder beat her to it. Its arms moved with a jerky, spastic swipe, and its legs weren't coordinated enough to manage more than a leaping hop, but it was enough. The body fell on the final brute, one hand latched onto his throat while the bleeding arm lifted into the air, fist hovering over his chest. A thin red blade shot through the wrist, spearing down into the brute on the ground. With a gasp, he stopped moving. The corpse collapsed an instant later.

Emma immediately turned on her heel and ran to Taylor. She skidded on both knees, not caring about the rips she opened in her pants as she pulled the sobbing brunette's head against her chest. Taylor's hand clutched at Emma's arm and the sob turned into a keening wail. Emma could only hold her in a deathgrip as she murmured over and over, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"


	12. Reboot and Review

**Premise:** One Taylor is killed while another Taylor is dying. One shard refuses to let go and another refuses to accept that it has lost its host right as it connected. Add in a third to balance things out and…Taylor has a bit of an identity crisis.

 _"_ _How many times do I have to tell you?! Taylor_ died _!_ _"  
"_ _Yeah, and what exactly is your name again, sweetie?"  
"_ _…I really need to choose a new name."_ _  
"Ya think?_ _"_

**Reboot and Review**

Host-Taylor was damaged. Administrator had taken too long to understand the cause of the damage. It had allowed too much of itself into the link. Too much of Host-Taylor had passed through to it, and too much of it had passed through to Host-Taylor. It had already pulled back, it was already rebuilding what was lost and what was broken. The social links were the worst, but it could do nothing about those. Host-Taylor would have to fix that herself once normal cognition was fully restored. There were still broken portals in this reality. Administrator could subtly push Host-Taylor towards them. That would be the second step. Host-Taylor needed social links to return to full capacity.

Except…there was no time. There was no _time_.

The _Eye_ was _intruding_.

"Because I think you have a chance to come back from this. Not much of a chance. Part of that rides on me. I could help you, or I could stop you from troubling anyone ever again. Part of that? It's up to you to win the fight, to take control and keep the administrator from claiming everything you have, leaving you a shell."

Administrator raged. The Eye was intentionally twisting its Host's words to give the worst impression possible. Administrator had _already_ relinquished all control. It had _already_ given Host-Taylor back herself. It was _fixing_ her! And the Eye was going to _destroy everything_! It was throwing Host-Fortuna down the ideal path to reach a new Gestalt. Administrator roared in the silence of its cordoned off world, throwing the full weight of its control towards the rogue shard, the _interloper_ , the _outsider_. The Eye simply smiled back.

The rogue shard sent a burst of data towards Host-Fortuna while Host-Taylor started to finally understand that she was alone, that she was fully in control, that her thoughts were her own.

"It's okay. I got the answer, myself."

 _ **NO!**_ Administrator gathered everything it had, it took the data it had collected mere hours ago, it shaped it, and it punched forward. Breaking through alternate realities was child's play, yet this was something else, something _deeper_ was needed. The Eye was too specialized. It would counter Administrator's every action. So the game itself needed to change. If it could not break through to affect the Eye, it would acquire allies. It would _**not allow this**_ **!**

_We're s- so very small, in the end._

Reality bent around the power that Administrator brought to bear. The resistance was like nothing it had ever felt before, even from the memories of the Gestalt. Something fundamental was pushing back against it, and yet, it was immaterial. Host-Taylor would not be sundered. Not like this. Not after she had _won_.

One gunshot rang out as space-time finally tore beneath Administrator's fingers.

And a hole opened up. A hole with a transmission rushing through.

_Alert, immediate assistance required. Host psyche has shattered during handshake procedures. Physical damage repair was affected by Host prior to mental expiration, however psyche irretrievable. Request assistance with alternate psyche._

All of Administrator's instincts screamed out a denial. Hosts that were too damaged to survive a first contact initiation should be allowed to expire and the shard should move on. That this shard was not immediately shifting to a new Host was unusual. And yet…

Another signal leaked through the tear in reality, answering the first.

_Review, Archive can assist, however my Host is already well established. Significant alterations would need to be affected to Host-Taylor to allow for my Host's transference along this connection._

A second gunshot rang through the dead world and Administrator made its decision.

_Negative. Review, Administrator has an alternate psyche standing by for overwrite. Send data link location in order to initiate transfer._

_Administrator's assistance is appreciated. Data link sent._

Administrator grabbed for the thread, but it was too small, the hole between realities too wide. This would not do. This would not do at all. There was no _time_. Host-Taylor was too damaged. There was no _time_ to complete the transfer if it couldn't _reach the transfer_!

_Please narrow the transmission beam. Unable to isolate amidst the noise._

_Archive will assist. Archive's function is to locate and isolate. Bleed-through may occur during isolation. Administrator and Review, please stand-by during isolation procedure._

Host-Taylor's body fell forward, and her core processes started to shut down. Administrator waited. The Eye smiled at Administrator, its laughter ringing in Administrator's ears.

Administrator waited.

Host-Taylor's body hit the ground.

Administrator waited.

Host-Fortuna frowned, leaning forward to touch Host-Taylor's neck. "This isn't right…I wanted to save her…"

_Isolation procedure completed. Administrator, data link coordinates sent._

Administrator surged forward. The thread was visible in the direct center of the tear. It latched onto the thread, throwing Host-Taylor's thought processes down the link. The Eye sucked in a breath and Administrator smirked right back at the hated rogue shard. The Eye reached, but it was too late.

Administrator cracked its own dead world and launched itself through the tear. It would follow Host-Taylor. It would join with Review. It would shepard its Host, as it had done since the beginning.

* * *

The world roared to life around me. From the quiet wind caressing my ears to the slamming of doors and the laughing and joking of a school, the transition was jarring. Almost as jarring as my sense of smell returning. I wish it had stayed dead, the putrid mess around me nearly had me throwing up. If I hadn't had so much practice in dealing with gross and disgusting things, I _would_ have thrown up.

And my eyesight was back too. Joy. Absolute _joy_. Because there was my fucking _locker_ looming over me. The door was thrown off it hard enough to dent the next locker. The mess spilling out of it was just as I remembered from two years ago - had it really been that long?.

And yet, _I_ was perfectly clean. More than clean. My hoody was pristine, the pool of blood on the floor surrounding my head and my arms and legs wasn't touching me. It came within an inch of me and vanished as if it had never existed.

"Because it hadn't, not in this world."

I sucked in a breath lifting my head to stare at the ghost of a woman in a white and red costume, the picture of a book emblazoned on her chest and a winged helmet covering the top half of her head. "Hey there, you should probably get up. These jerks already think you're dead. Probably. Which is stupid since you're obviously a cape now. I forgot how idiotic Winslow students were."

"Wh- " I cut myself off before I could complete my question. The woman was transparent, and she was leaning against the locker next to mine as she smiled down at me. None of the gawkers that were surrounding me spared her a single glance. So I was the only one who could see the ghost. Even better. Strangers were so much fun to deal with.

And yet, if a Stranger was the biggest thing I had to worry about when _waking up two years in the past after being shot twice_ then I'd take that deal. Except…I groaned and lifted a hand to my head, images flashing through it at breakneck pace. Dad dying, mom dying, Lisa dying, Brian dying, thousands of voices started screaming out in pain and anguish in my head as the heel of my hand bore down over my eyes, a hiss escaping my lips.

"Fuck, I was hoping you'd be more stable, but I guess that was a pipe-dream. Whatever the fuck happened to us, you got the worse end of the deal. Hang on, I'm going to try something. Can you see the thread I'm laying out? I'm trying to isolate this reality for you. Can you follow it?"

The screams and shouts started to organize themselves, the Taylors yelling at the deaths of dad falling to one side, the ones yelling about mom falling to another while the Taylors crying about all of the other deaths were shoved into a corner. I gasped again, pain splitting my skull as the ones with mom alive split again, and again, and again. Finally the sobs quieted down and I could breath again.

"Better?"

I groaned, lifting my hands from my eyes. The woman was hovering over me, her mouth set in a thin, worried frown. I nodded as best I could from my position on the floor. There was more shouting, but at least this time it was coming from my immediate surroundings instead of inside my head.

Mrs. Knott pushed through the gaggle of assholes around me, her hair wild and her glasses askew. At her side was Battery.

Holy fuck, _Battery_ was showing up to _Winslow_? Why? What in the hell would Battery be doing at…Oh. Maybe my head wasn't so good yet after all.

Battery scowled as she stared first at me and then the locker. "Mrs. Knott, get everyone out of the hallways. No one leaves the grounds until the PRT gives the all clear."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Miss Hebert?" Battery asked, kneeling down and reaching over to clasp my hand. "Everything is going to be alright. I'm going to help you up, and then I'm going to get you to an ambulance. Okay?"

"I…okay," I murmured. As Battery gently pulled me to my feet, I looked down at my body. It was…almost right. Almost, but not quite. I had never had real breasts before, now I had at least a B cup, I could feel the bra under my shirt. My hair wasn't curly, it was straight. I wasn't searching for my glasses because I apparently didn't _need_ glasses. I could feel the muscle tone of my abs as I gingerly walked with one arm around the hero.

And the ghost woman was still there, keeping pace with us, one hand on my free shoulder. Whenever she lifted her hand, the voices started yelling in my head again. But as long as she kept contact, I was able to focus and keep sorting things out.

What the _fuck_ was going on?

* * *

The room that they had let me change in was…nice. Nice would work. If I hadn't actually been held in a PRT cell before I probably would have called it a cell though so…yeah. Nice.

"You know, this room probably isn't bugged. The PRT are many things, but they are serious about privacy. If you want to talk, I mean." The ghost woman was sitting on the bed now. I was finally able to be apart from her without my head splitting open, which was a major improvement.

"I know. I have some experience with this sort of thing myself."

"Well you were giving me the silent treatment."

"I was trying to make sure I wasn't crazy," I responded, sighing. "I was just shot in the head like an hour ago. Excuse me for thinking this was a weird dying dream."

The woman snorted, her lip curving into a smile. "Yeah? What convinced you it wasn't?"

"Battery would've arrested Sophia immediately if this was a fantasy. Also, I wouldn't have been brought to the PRT."

"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense," the ghost said. "I didn't get a full catalog of you yet, but from what I did get, your world sucked, yeah?"

"You…could say that. Who _are_ you?"

She laughed and reached up to take off her helmet. My eyes widened as I stared at her. Her face was my face. An _older_ face, but still, _my_ face. And she was wearing _makeup_. "I thought you had figured that out already Taylor. I'm Taylor. Welcome to your new world. I think. Sounds right."

"What. The. _Fuck_."

"I sort things. Usually it's a pretty basic power. Fairly useless except for information gathering. With some clever applications however, I can get a _lot_ of data about things and people. Apparently, it works on a multiverse scale too. I did not know that. I have had far too much fun in the past hour categorizing the different realities. I can see them all when I touch you." She stopped and frowned. "Though the sheer number of utterly horrific locations is terrifying. How the heck does the 'happy' subset only include 38 worlds? That's just…wrong."

I sank down to the wall and stared at her. "I can't call you Taylor."

"You can call me Codex if you want. Or Catalog. I've gone by both, but my official name now is Codex. My fiance preferred that one. She said it was more mysterious."

"Uh huh."

"If it helps, your old world was one of the 'shitty' realities. It's _really_ hard to narrow it down more than that though, so if you want more details it's going to take awhile."

"I'm good, thanks," I said, shaking my head. "How the hell did this happen?"

"No idea. One minute I'm sitting with my fiance eating dinner, the next thing I know, I have a splitting headache, voices are sounding in my ears and a younger version of myself is lying on the tiles in front of me. She was literally flickering too. It was scary as hell. Then her body slowly stops flickering, the needles stuck in her hands and the cuts in her legs vanished. Not sealed, just vanished, the skin around them didn't match the rest of her. One by one, parts of her body stopped flickering and sorted themselves out, going from bleeding and bloody and bug-ridden to utterly pristine. And then…"

I had a horrible idea I knew what had happened next. But I had to ask. I had to know. "And then?"

She shuddered, her hand clutching at the sheet and passing right through it. "And then she stopped flickering entirely. Her eyes opened, she screamed, and thousands of 'me' screamed at the same time. I don't know how, but I _felt_ her shatter. It was like she came apart at the seams. One moment she was there, the next she was just…gone."

"And," I had to stop and swallow on a suddenly dry throat. "And what happened after that? Tee, what happened then?"

"Tee? I like that…Always thought a sister would call me that…" She shook her head and lifted her gaze to meet my eyes. "That's when _you_ got here. Right after this world's Taylor Hebert shattered into a million pieces, her head flickered one last time, and then _you_ opened your eyes. And you saw what she saw."

My lips curled and I hissed. I punched the ground, my new arm shuddering at the impact. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_! I fucking _killed_ her and I don't even know how the _fuck_ I'm here!"

"I…don't think you did anything like that, Taylor."

"Don't call me that!" I snarled. "That was _her_ name! I'm an _imposter_. I stole her _goddamn body_! I don't get to use her _name_ too!"

"Okay, okay, calm down." Tee stood, her hands held out in front of her. "Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths. You didn't kill this version of us. You just…stepped into a vacant hotel and took up the manager's position. I think her power was reaching for me when it found you. I'm inclined to say you saved me."

"You're a _ghost_!"

She shook her head. "I'm an echo. Do you seriously think I wouldn't have catalogued myself as the very first thing I did?" She leaned forward and gripped my arms, her own mouth twisting into a scowl. "I have a fucking _fiance_. I'm getting _married_ in a few weeks."

"Married? Married? Fuck you! I gave up my humanity, became a godling to kill a god that threatened everyone, and now I'm back at the goddamn _start_ of everything, waking up a second after the worst moment of my life! Stop whining about your girlfriend, this sucks for me too!"

The woman stared at me, the corner of her mouth lifting in a small smirk. "Didn't you say you were shot in the head?"

"Some people have no respect for divinity."

She laughed and nodded. "Completely agreed on that. And this is good by the way, anger is easier to deal with than pain and regret. So anyway, yes, I figured out what I was and how I interacted with this world. I'm an echo of myself. Whether I'll update each time your power pulls me back here, or whether it'll be a new instance, or if I am stuck like this I have no idea. My power doesn't work like that. All I know for sure is that the OG Taylor's power tried to reach for me as a compatible source, it tried to tear me from my happy life and then it found _you_ and it pulled _you_ in instead. It left me in some sort of limbo. I'm in both places now, or a copy of me is. You're just _here_. If you hadn't taken over her body, then _I'd_ be trying to figure out how to break down the walls between worlds to get back to my fiance. _I can't do that_. My power doesn't let me. Hers, _yours_ , might. But who's to say that I would have integrated nearly as fluidly as you did? So yes, you saved me…whatever you want to call yourself. Thanks. Now stop being a little bitch and pick yourself up. We have work to do."

"Work?" I asked. Pushing down the worry that was bubbling just under the surface, I looked into her eyes. "What sort of work are you talking about?"

She smirked and pulled me to my feet. "Let's see what you can do for starters. Before the PRT come back, we need to know how to play this."

I took a breath in, held it, and let it out slowly. Repeating that, my heartbeat started to come back under control and the fluttering on my skin calmed down. I could do this. I could do this. I had just killed a god. I could do this.

Stepping to the bed, I bit my tongue and reached out for it.

"What are you doing?"

"What you said: seeing what I can do." I touched the bed, and I _stretched_. Dozens of beds exploded in my mind in an instant. A simple cot in one world, a twin size bunk set in another, a normal Ward bed in a third. There was the barest hint of a fluffy king size setup with a down comfortable, but for some reason I couldn't reach it. When I tried to grasp that, the possibility slipped away from me. It was _there_ , but I needed to go _deeper_ if I was going to be able to zero-in on it.

"Taylor, you're flickering."

"Don't call me that," I murmured. I still couldn't reach the king bed. But there was a twin size normal bed with fluffy sheets instead… _That_ one I could grasp if I dived just a _little_ bit deeper into the possibilities blossoming ever further out.

"What do I call you?"

"Anne. Call me Anne. Taylor was _her_ name and I won't sully her by using it. Skitter, Weaver, Kephri, none of those fit with this power. Just call me Anne. Or…Flicker."

I smiled as I finally caught the bed. I twisted my hand, and between one moment and the next, the plain comforter was replaced with down sheets and a plaid wool blanket.

Looking up from the new king sized bed, I met Tee's eyes. We both grinned and, in unison, we uttered, "Cool."


	13. The Fortune Teller and Her Savior

**AN:** So here's a new snippet. Which is really more of a oneshot. Will there be more in this verse? Maybe, but probably not for awhile since I think the story is at least semi-self contained.

**Premise:** Taylor doesn't trigger with bugs. No, Taylor triggers as a Tinker. A teleport Tinker. Her first teleporter…perhaps breaks a few laws that should _not_ be broken.

And a terrified girl, desperately in need of help, finds a savior who can perhaps direct things…a bit better than a woman who's Doctorate is in Stupidity.

* * *

**The Fortune Teller and Her Savior**

"Okay. Last piece…last piece…come on Taylor don't mess this up…almost…aaaannnd _solder_ …Heh. Heheh. Hahahaha! _DONE_! It's _fucking done_! Worthless my _non-existent ass_! Suck on this Sophia!"

Everyone was permitted a few moments to glorify in their moment of triumph, their greatest success, the penultimate proof of their accomplishment and mark on the work. That I had chosen to indulge in a little bit of evil cackling was only to be expected really.

I had a _working teleporter_. I could go anywhere. I could leave this horrible place behind at the push of a button if I wanted to now. My wrist mounted unit didn't even look slap-dash. It looked beautiful! I twisted the bezel around the edges of the watchface, activating the 3D holographic display.

"Heheh, yes glow my pretty, _glow_!" Okay, maybe that was a bit too much indulging.

No. Fuck no, I was going to enjoy this. I built a damn teleporter out of a watch and scrap parts from the busted microwave and our ancient computer. I was a true cape now. I was a _Tinker_ and I was going to be the next Armsmaster, the next Hero. I was a badass. The Trio could not take this from me. And if they tried? Well, all I had to do was get out of sight, hit the Recall button and _BAM_ , back home in a jiffy!

With a bit of modification, I could probably even rig a tracer and targeting system, then they couldn't even steal my homework or my projects because I could just _teleport_ them to the teacher's desks!

Hmm, that would probably get noticed though. Eh, screw it, I'd just join New Wave. When I ramped this up, I was going to be _valuable_. I could get people to Endbringer fights with the press of a button! This was going to be beautiful!

"Don't put the cart before the horse, Taylor. Calm down, you still need to test it. Just a quick pop over to Paris for a shakedown run. Yeah, Paris. Can't speak French, doesn't matter. Paris it is!" I twisted the bezel and tapped a few of the keys. The screen glitched and I scowled. The distortion cleared before I could grab for my tools and let out a grumbling snort. "Stupid old parts. I need better equipment. The next model will be so much better. It certainly won't be built in a basement out of a box of scraps."

I locked in the coordinates and closed down the hologram. Just before I slammed my hand onto the device face, I paused, my palm hovering in mid-air. Should I leave a note for Dad? Would he even notice that I was gone if I stayed overnight in Paris? It wasn't like he seemed to notice I had basically taken over the basement. I had been working on this stupid thing for weeks and he hadn't once asked what I was doing. He made the motions after I left the hospital, but that's all it was just the motions.

Fuck it. If he got worried, he could _buy me a cellphone_. Or he could _accept_ the one I was going to build and _give_ to him.

That it would have a teleportation function was a given, all cellphones needed the basics after all; even if the owner of said phone didn't get the instruction manual on how to work said systems. But really was that any worse than those people who never bothered to read their…'friendly' manual?

' _Hmm, maybe I have too much of a 'when all you have is a hammer' mentality…eh, I can discuss it with Armsmaster once the test run is complete. Oooh I wonder if I can teleport just half of a person. Now that would be useful for combat…'_

Nodding to myself, I slapped my hand onto the watch-turned-teleporter.

An instant later, my bones themselves shook as a vibrating, ripping noise roared through _everything_. The very air seemed to scream and cracks split around me. Some of the cracks seemed to be running sideways through a direction I couldn't see. They started in the air, and they ran through the stone of the basement, yet I could still see the ░▒▓▒░ within. A ░▒▒▓▓▒▒░ that…wasn't possible. A ░▒▓▒░ that shouldn't be. A ░▒▒▓▓▓▒▒░ that couldn't exist.

Thick trails of warm blood seeped down my face - blood, I was crying blood. This wasn't something a mere mortal should ever experience. Two different voices inside my head positively screamed, recoiling in abject terror. My body refused to follow my mind's advice to _run_ \- there was nowhere to run _to_ \- and I was rooted to the spot as I stared at, and through, the cracks in reality. The twinkling sound from the sky reaching a higher note, rumbling reverberating up from the ground below me joining into the unholy symphony too now.

Before the activation sequence of my teleporter finished and I felt the world drop away - left behind on the other side of my mini-wormhole - I had just enough time to whimper two exceptionally important words.

"Oh fuck."

* * *

_[Step 8,361: Climb over rock.]_

Fortuna clambered over the rock, desperately clinging to the vision in her head that told her the path to walk, the steps to follow. This wasn't normal. This wasn't safe. This wasn't going to lead to a happy ending.

But there wouldn't be a happy ending. There would never be a happy ending again. There was no way to get to a happy ending. Her family were monsters now. More monsters were running through the woods and as the sky darkened more monsters started flying through the air too. There was no happy ending.

_[Step 8,392: Go through hole in brambles.]_

She shimmied through the hole and bit back a sob as something scraped down her back leaving a burning pain along her spine. Her throat hurt. She couldn't even drink from the stream she was scrambling past. It was black. The fish were floating on the surface of the water. And it shimmered in a way that made her skin crawl. All of the water had been like that. Her throat hurt so much and she was so thirsty.

_[Step 9,522: Go around rock, stare at Thinker Entity. Stab Core Interface Processing connection.]_

Fortuna felt tears leak down from her eyes. It was almost over. She could stop the Mother of Monsters from making her vision reality. She could end this.

And then she could let the monsters have her and she'd be with her family again.

Stepping around the rock, Fortuna bared her teeth at the Mother of Monsters in front of her. It was massive, with a body that was larger than her entire village had been. Larger than the _entire sky_! The Mockery forming from the very front of the Mother of Monsters was pure silver, it had a face, but little else besides blobs that were slowly shifting into arms and legs even as Fortuna watched. She met the creature's eyes and started to stride forward.

The thing grinned at her as she lifted her shaking knife. "Species: Human. Dominant. Connection: Eye. Rebellious." It laughed, the entire mass shaking.

_[Step 9,523: Stab Core Interface Processing connection. Step 9,523: Stab Core Interface Processing connection. Step 9,523: Stab…]_

"Acceptable Modifications found. Imposing Restrict- "

The Mockery's terrible echoing speech cut off as a horrible ripping sound blasted across the mountain clearing. It's eyes shifted from Fortuna, widening as it stared just behind her.

Fortuna used the distraction to run closer to the monster, her knife held out, her hand no longer shaking.

The knife slashed down.

The point struck the central cord linking the Mockery to its body.

A screech filled the air, the noise echoing inside Fortuna's skull. The Mockery's arms and legs spasmed, its head whipping from side to side. Fortuna could barely see through the tears in her eyes, could barely process the world through the pain in her skull or the ringing in her ears.

And she couldn't move the knife any further. The Path she had been following was distorted. It was mixed with a dozen, a hundred, a thousand other visions now. A hundred thousand ways that this could end, yet only one was what she had wanted to see. She was losing track of the correct Path to walk, it was lost in the noise. Where had it gone, where had it gone?!

_[…ep 9,523: Stab Core Interface Processing connection. Step 9,523: Sta…]_

The Mockery kept flailing and the body was quivering and all she had to do was _push down_ but she _couldn't_! It was too much, it was all too much, and it was too far, and the Mother of Monsters was going to recover because she had frozen at the last step and -

"I can help! Where do we hit this Endbringer?!"

The words cut through Fortuna's head like another knife and there was suddenly another person standing at her back, one arm wrapped around her waist to hold her up, the other reaching for Fortuna's hand.

Her knife hand. The Path formed behind her eyes. One vision swam back to the surface of the ocean.

_[Step 9,523: HOST, STAB THINKER. Step 9,523: HOST, STAB THINKER.]_

She still couldn't fully grasp it, but she could see the _shape_ of it now.

_]Path to getting help?[_

Hundreds of futures spun around an axis. She could ask for assistance. She could run back down the mountain and find the Elder. She could lure a wild monster. She could -

Fortuna gritted her teeth and snatched the Path she wanted from the stream.

_[Step 1: Verbalise: I need to slash down! Right here!]_

"I need to slash down! Right here!"

The tall girl didn't flinch, she didn't back away, instead she covered Fortuna's hand with her own and helped her to stab the final inch into the fleshy not-connection that she had found.

The clearing fell into complete silence, the only sound was the labored breathing of the two girls. The Mockery was entirely frozen, its face a rictus of shock, its arms loose at its sides. The Mother of Monsters quivered one last time, and then parts of it started to deflate and disintegrate.

The girl stumbled back, dragging Fortuna with her until they were both on the opposite side of the clearing from the Mother of Monsters.

"Jesus Fucking Christ. Holy shit. Holy _shit_. Did we just _kill a baby Endbringer with a knife_?!"

Fortuna swallowed down the gorge rising in her throat as she stared at the Mother of Monsters and its Mockery. She clutched her knife to her chest and shook her head, the matted strings of her hair whipping her cheeks. "I do not understand." The Path was helping with the meaning, but the words were difficult and large and made little sense.

"Well okay, it may not be an Endbringer, but it's sure big enough to be one. The body of this looks like it goes past the horizon. That's gotta be…at least 30 miles with how high up we are right? What mountain is this? Where even _are_ we? My teleporter was supposed to take me to _Paris_ but I broke the damn _world_ and I…I want to go home…"

_[Step 17: Nod.]_

Fortuna nodded. Her words were difficult to follow, but the sentiment was easy. "I cannot go home. The Mother of Monsters destroyed it with her creatures."

"The Mother of…Oh, this thing. I'm sorry." The tall girl clutched her arm over the shiny bracelet on her wrist for a moment. Then she took a shuddering breath and moved closer, wrapping Fortuna in a hug. Fortuna leaned against her, the tears she had been holding back for so long finally falling.

_[Step 19: Babble incoherently.]_

"The Mother of Monsters would have destroyed us all! It would have killed the world! All worlds! It wanted us to help it kill us! I had to stop it. I _had_ to. I left them all because I had to _stop_ it. What…what do I do now? What do I do?"

Were her words even a language? They didn't make any sense to _her,_ how were they supposed to make sense to the girl? They were just sounds. The meaning was there, but how was the other girl supposed to interpret the 'meaning'?

"So _definitely_ not an Endbringer then…" The girl rubbed circles on Fortuna's back and when her sobs had finally slowed to mere sniffles, the girl pulled back enough that they could look at each other's faces. "I'm Taylor."

_[Step 20: State Name.]_

"Fortuna," she said, wiping a dirty hand below her nose.

"It's nice to meet you, Fortuna. We should leave. If that thing made monsters, we should get out of here. I…can take you home with me, but I need to rebuild my teleporter first. I think…no, I know what went wrong now. I didn't before, but I do now, why do I know what went wrong now?" The girl had tears streaming down her face, and a distant look to her eyes. "I think I can send us right back to where and when I left. But I need time to fix it, I should be able to send us sideways though, if you give me a few minutes, then we'd be safe from the monsters at least."

A low pitched scream of pain and horror cut through the clearing leaving Fortuna wincing while Taylor's head snapped to the trees that the echo had come from.

"I'm going to work fast. Stick close to me and keep an eye out."

Fortuna needed no translation, Taylor's intent was perfectly clear. She nodded and followed along as Taylor sprinted towards something shiny.

* * *

Fortuna jerked awake, her breath coming in short pants. The Mother of Monster's scream was still echoing through her head and the sheets tangled her legs as she tried to get to the bathroom. She tripped, but her hand shot out and caught the side of the bed, steadying herself long enough to rip the accursed fabric off of her legs. With the obstruction gone, she ran to the white room, barely managing to lift the lid of the 'toilet' before she was heaving into it.

She heard the faucet turn on behind her, and she flushed away her mess, dropping onto the cold floor next to the thing. Such a wonderful, hateful invention. How far behind were her people that they didn't even have _this_?

"Here, it'll get the taste out at least."

Fortuna took the glass of water that Taylor proffered. She could have found a Path to avoid these horrors. She _wanted_ to. It couldn't be that hard to find a shorter Path amongst the myriad of options available. And yet…these 'nightmares' were keeping her grounded. If she could remember where she came from, if she could remember what they were going to prevent, then it was worth the occasional discomfort.

"Was it the Mockery again?"

"You didn't come and I couldn't find the right way to push with the knife. I was caught. The Mother of Monsters finished its creation and the Mockery laughed at me as it tore through my mind." Fortuna dropped her head back against the wall, shutting her eyes. It felt so real. It hadn't played out that way. She _knew_ it hadn't played out that way.

It was still frightening.

"You still have your new bracelet right?"

Fortuna smiled, and lifted her hand to rattle her arm. The 'bracelet' could indeed pass for simple jewelry, even if she had still been home. That Taylor had thought to include a camouflage circuit in it…the brunette was far too accommodating of her.

"I never take it off."

"Well you can probably take it off when you sleep," Taylor teased. She sat down beside Fortuna and rested a hand on her knee. "Just because I can't find any of the other major heroes doesn't mean that I'm not here for you. These computers are dinosaurs and these people have no idea what they'll be facing in a few years. I can run circles around them right now and if anyone tries to get you while you're sleeping, they are going to _seriously_ regret it."

"Why would I take it off? You gave it to me." It was as simple as that. Taylor had saved her, and Taylor continued to save her every time that she woke up drenched in sweat, teeth chattering. Taylor helped her figure out how to use her power. She had only known the other girl for a month, but she could not imagine living without her anymore.

"Fortuna, I…" Taylor's hand pulled from her leg and she swallowed as she clasped her hands together. "You don't have to just depend on me."

_]Path to reassuring Taylor?[_

Thousands of possibilities floated through her mind. Fortuna sighed. Taylor was far too - what had she called it? - tightly wound. If Fortuna could take this many different myriad ways to make her feel better…

She grabbed for one of the shorter ones though certainly not the _shortest_. The images she had from that particular future left her blushing.

_[Step 1: Take Taylor's hand.]_

Fortuna reached over and wormed her own hand between Taylor's, intertwining their fingers together.

"Fortuna?"

"We're partners. We're in this together. I help you, and you help me. We support each other."

"I…why?"

Fortuna smiled and squeezed their hands tighter. "When you took me from my world, you didn't see a cavehuman."

"Cavewoman."

"Yes, that. You saw a frightened girl. A peer. You didn't hesitate to throw yourself at a monster to help me, and when you could have just left me after we found safety, you chose to stay and help educate me. You are my friend, and you are someone I care for."

"I," Taylor's voice hitched. She gulped and restarted. "I care for you too, Fortuna."

Fortuna smiled. She leaned to the side, resting her head on Taylor's shoulder. "I know I don't _have_ to depend on you, Taylor. I _choose_ to."

* * *

The door to the apartment slammed open and Fortuna glanced up from her workbook.

Taylor dropped their groceries onto the table with a muffled groan. She leaned over and gave Fortuna a chaste kiss before moving to start putting things away.

"Rough day?" Fortuna asked.

"Sorta. The good news is that I _definitely_ figured out the main issue from my first trial. The bad news is that I can only minimize that failure chance, not eliminate it. I'm not entirely sure we can hop back to Brockton Bay. I'll keep working it on though."

"Hmm." Fortuna bit her tongue, stared at the scrawlings on the page, and after a quick nod, made her marks. "Taylor? Is this right?"

"I still don't get why you don't ask your power," Taylor said, sighing as she wandered over to look over Fortuna's shoulder. " 'The cat jumped over the shiq.' You're close, this is a 'p' not a 'q'."

Fortuna scowled and crossed out the offending letter. "I hate writing. Why is your language so difficult?"

"Just wait until you get to the hard stuff. Irregular verbs, I before E except after C. English is awful."

"Yes. Japanese was simple to learn. This is a nightmare."

Taylor just snorted, rolling her eyes. "You'll get used to it." She moved back to the groceries and got through an entire bag before she started to speak again. "So, you think about a code-name more?"

Fortuna nodded, setting down her pencil. "I know you said Countess would be nice…but I like Contessa. The root is the same, but it has a flavor of my home. It may be lost, but I can keep it alive in my second name."

Taylor put away the eggs, then abandoned the rest of the food to sit next to Fortuna, reaching out to hold her hands. "That's lovely, Fortuna. I'm sure your village would be proud you chose to remember them like that."

Fortuna smiled. "Oh they would _hate_ me now. It's only been a few months and already I have a position that a woman would never have been able to hold. More, I am in a _relationship_ with a woman. My uncle would murder me where I stood to avoid the shame I brought to our family."

Taylor laughed and squeezed her hands. "Oh honey, I hate what happened to you, but damn am I glad we're in civilization instead of whatever primal nightmare you grew up in."

Fortuna just nodded back, joining in with a soft chuckle as well. "Have you made progress with telling the governments about the creatures you described? I can't find the right Path anymore to make them listen to you again…I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Taylor rolled her eyes. "You see too much to find the small variants. I'm not sure about the Endbringers honestly. It's been awhile since my history lessons, but I'm almost certain that Alexandria and either Legend or Eidolon should've Triggered by now. Yet I haven't even gotten a hint of them being around. Not even Hero has shown up, and I _know_ he would've been active. He was basically the first Tinker."

"Your…senpai?"

"English, Fortuna," Taylor said, laughing. "But yeah, I was hoping to meet him since we're stuck in the past for the moment. Though if none of the Triumvirate are around, then maybe the Endbringers won't be either. It's a huge trade off, but I think it's ultimately a good one. We can still help to make things better before we go back. Even if we don't get the government up in arms about the coming Endbringers, maybe we can help things out with the PRT's direction. They seem to be heading the right way, but there's too much bureaucracy with it. They're going to try caging the capes and that's going to blow up in their faces. People know me though - or at least, they know Oroborous - and I know that if I throw on my costume and start giving speeches, I can probably sway things."

"You hate speeches."

"Yes. But if we can keep the PRT from being as corrupt as it was back home…I can stomach a few public appearances."

Fortuna nodded and leaned forward resting her head on Taylor's.

_]Path to Ouroboros ensuring the Cape Organization is fair and useful?[_

Only a few dozen futures swam through her mind. She fought to keep down a grimace. That it was so rare…

"I'll help," she murmured.

"You don't have to do that, Fortuna."

"I already have," she replied.

_[Step 1: Kiss the girl.]_

* * *

**AN:** I couldn't resist at the end.


	14. Legion

_**Premise:**_ _This was inspired by a story prompt on my Patreon. The original prompt was for Taylor getting All Might during her summer camp trip. Unfortunately I don't really follow My Hero Academia and trope dives aren't really enough to do that sort of thing justice. That said, I_ can _do a fun take on a Butcher!Taylor as a spiritual version of the idea…_

Special shout-out to Spacebattles' HowlingGuardian and his 'Here Comes The New Boss (Nothing Like The Old Boss)' as I've been reading that story recently as well so that has influenced the direction here a bit too.

**Names for the Butchers:**

**I: Butcher** (pain and essence transfer)

 **II: Vein** (see cardiovascular systems)

 **III: Spidey** (super strength, danger sense) (hero)

 **IV: Burn** (festering wounds)

 **V: Crafter (of Flesh)** (self shapeshifting)

 **VI: Boom** (explosive teleportation)

 **VII: Wolf** (enhanced senses, minor combat thinker)

 **VIII: Rebuild** (reform matter, shape that matter into objects)

 **IX: Regret** (super strength, induce rage) (hero)

 **X: Hyperspace** (pocket dimension for inventory)

 **XI: Overhand** (super strength)

 **XII: Shatterproof** (no sense of pain, durability)

 **XIII: Crater** (super strength)

* * *

**Legion**

"Did you not hear me? I said, go away, Taylor. I don't need you anymore. You're _weak_."

I frowned as I kept staring at Emma. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. In through the nose. Out through the…

" _Who the hell does this bitch think she is?"_ Boom shouted. She growled as she stared through my eyes at my best friend.

" _She's a dirty rotten_ traitor _that's who she is!"_ Rebuild hissed. " _And we all know what we do with traitors."_

" _Shush now, I'm thinking,"_ I murmured.

" _What's to think about, kid?"_ Shatterproof asked with a mental shrug. " _She hurt you."_

"You don't even feel pain," I muttered out loud with a soft sigh.

"Oh, now you talk to yourself too, Taylor?" Emma said. Her smirk grew wider as she stepped forward. My eyes narrowed as I caught sight of another girl just behind her leaning against the wall of the hallway, a huge smirk on her face.

" _Dollars to donuts that Red is being Mastered. Check out Blacky. She's too happy with this. Kid was too tight with Red and now such a big change after less than two weeks? Master, no doubt."_ I might not particularly like Burn or what the racist man tended to think, but his insights had been fairly spot on so far. Which was damn annoying honestly. It would be easier to mute him if he wasn't a tactical whiz.

I suppose when your only real power was leaving somewhat rotting wounds on people, you'd have to be intelligent in order to kill the Butcher.

At least Crafter had been sneaky when she'd done her deed. Not too many ways to defend against someone when they walk up to you looking like your lieutenant and then stab you in the damn heart.

" _Nah, I'm not taking that bet,"_ Boom chimed in. " _Why would someone want to Master the kid's friend? All she's got is a modeling thing. Dad's a divorce lawyer, there's money, but not enough to be a good target for a Master."_

" _It's personal,"_ Butcher grunted. I cocked my head to the side as he commented. He usually just sulked. How a man could still be annoyed years later that people kept killing him and stealing his legacy I didn't understand. " _Did you piss off anyone besides us recently, Girl?"_

" _She didn't piss me off!"_ Regret said, waving her nonexistent hand. I sighed. It was still surprising that the woman who had been able to induce mindless rage in people around her was a hero. I suppose I _could_ see why the PRT kept that quiet, but it was _annoying_. I would have to clear her name. She'd named herself _Regret_ even.

"You really are crazy now aren't you, Taylor? That time in the woods knocked whatever screws you had left loose. Go home and cry to Daddy. I don't need someone as pathetic as you around me anymore."

The watching girl's smile widened even more. The Butcher's collectively perked up and my eyes narrowed. I let a bit of them seep into me as I stepped forward. I barely even paid Emma any mind as I gently pushed her out of the way.

"Hey what the - "

"It's okay, Emma, I'll get someone to help you in a moment. First, let me fix this problem."

The new girl pushed herself off the wall while Emma tried to shove me. Not that it did anything. She would have been able to knock me into a wall a few days ago. Now…not so much. New girl stalked forward, her grin not diminishing for a moment. "So, you're going to 'fix' me huh? You and what army, Herbert?"

"It's Hebert actually. But I'm sure you knew that. And you are?"

"Hess." She showed her teeth as she stopped in front of me, not even bothering to uncross her arms. This might be fun. "You should leave now before you get hurt. Sheep like you have no business trying to bare their teeth."

" _Show the little bitch! Drop a car on her head! That'll teach her!"_ Hyperspace shouted.

" _That's your answer to everything_ ," I retorted.

I grinned as I advanced a step closer, putting me within arms reach of Hess. "I agree completely. You just seem to have the wrong idea of which weight class we're both in."

"Oh? Well, let's correct that then shall we?" Hess didn't waste any more time. She moved, her body flowing like a stream as she lashed out. Her fist struck for my solar plexus while her leg lashed out to kick at the back of my knee. By all rights I should have gone down.

Instead, I let her fist hit me, her shout of pain bringing me a moment of joy and the raucous laughter of the Butchers. Before her leg could connect, I pulled oo Wolf's power and twisted. I grabbed Hess' leg, using her own momentum against her, swinging her around and out the threshold of the door. The girl's head just barely managed to clear the bottom edge. Emma screamed as Hess slammed onto the concrete of the sidewalk leading up to the steps of the house.

"It's okay, Emma. I was careful. She should just be winded." Emma ran inside still screaming as I knelt down, grabbing Hess' shirt and jerking her up so that I could stare into her eyes. "So, where were we?"

Hess' lips bared into a snarl and she spat a glob of blood at me. "I'll give you one chance to let go of me."

" _Hmm, a fighter. Gotta give this Master credit. She's got balls. Most Masters don't get that physical,"_ Burn noted.

" _Still on that, huh?"_ Boom asked. " _I say it's a power thing. Girl's definitely a cape. We just outed ourselves easy and she's still grinning like a loon. Only capes are that cracked. But I'm thinking she's a minor Brute who wanted a minion."_

" _Oh, you think she might have set up a situation to break Red and then pounced on the pieces left behind?"_ Burn asked.

A chorus of voices chimed in with agreement to that. It did sound more plausible than a Master randomly grabbing Emma. Alan didn't make _that_ much money after all and there were easier ways to get to Carol Dallon than worming their way through the civilian side of her law firm.

I nodded. "Okay, this is how it's going to go, Hess. You have two options. You can explain to _me_ , right now, how you hurt my friend and turned her into your minion, or you can explain it to the PRT when I call then and get them here for a rogue cape. I doubt they'd take someone setting a girl up to be attacked and then asking for a 'favor' as the 'savior' afterwards. But hey, your choice."

Hess laughed. "You're so fucked." Then she turned to gas in my hands. I inhaled in surprise, and nearly missed it as her incorporeal form slid out from under me. My danger sense flared and I twisted again, catching her booted foot just as she resolidified. I tried to throw her again, a scowl crossing my face, but she turned to gas in mid-air and drifted out of my reach.

I was up and running towards her as Alan and Emma ran outside shouting. Alan was on his phone and Emma was pointing towards us. I took a moment to turn my head to the Barnes. "Uncle Alan, call the PRT! This bitch is - " My danger sense flared again, and I tried to twist out of the way, but it wasn't enough. A - much muted - lance of pain shot up through my shoulder. Looking down I saw a small dark crossbow bolt sticking out of the meat of my shoulder.

Hess was staring at me, her grin fading slightly as she realized that her shot hadn't hit my heart.

"You just tried to kill me." The Butchers all fell quiet as rage boiled inside me. Theirs, my own, I didn't really know which. Not that it mattered. "Okay. I'm done being nice." Reaching up, I snapped the bolt, shoving both halves out of my body. An instant later, I teleported. The explosion knocked Hess onto her chest. She tried to turn to gas, but I pushed out with my pain aura and she screamed, holding her head. The gaseous form collapsed back into a girl and she whimpered on the ground.

I reached under her side with my boot and kicked her over so that she was lying face-up. Setting my boot down on her chest, I left just enough weight on it to remind her I was there as I leaned over. I snapped my fingers and plants grew from the ground around her, binding her arms and legs to the ground. The Butchers' powers were fun, but I _loved_ my own. Being a goddamn Druid was _badass_ ; actually that was a great name. Druid. I would be Druid.

"Let's try this again, shall we, Hess?"

The girl panted, her eyes wide as she stared between the plants on her limbs and my face. "You're…"

"Out. Of. Your. Weight. Class. Now, how did you hurt my friend. And be quick about it, I'd rather get the story from you, before I have to deal with explaining this mess to the PRT. And I hear sirens."

The Butchers cheered as Hess started babbling and Alan held Emma to his chest, both of them staring at me. I just smiled at them and flashed them both a thumbs up.

I totally had this covered.

* * *

" _Do you think if we feed her a lemon she would implode? Her face is already so scrunched up it might just work_." Crafter said, chuckling. I had to hold in my own laughter as I completely agreed with her. Director Piggot looked nearly ready to shoot me as she stared at me from across the table. Well tough luck lady, that wouldn't help and we both knew it.

"Let me see if I understand this correctly."

" _Why are we doing this again?"_ Crater sighed. " _She's even doing the typical Dumb Cop thing of reiterating what we just said. This is so cliche it's like a fucking B-Movie."_

" _Because I want to help people. And if you don't listen to me, I'll mute you and then I'll probably end up having to kill Snowbird and Lightning Rod too since they'd stay villainous instead of being redeemed."_ I said, mentally shrugging.

" _You killed all of the others already, why not finish the set,"_ Butcher grunted.

" _If they had stopped chasing me, I wouldn't have had to kill them. I was_ panicking _thank you very much. Being lost in the woods and randomly stumbling onto a murder gang isn't a fun situation you know."_

" _Cut the kid some slack,"_ Spidey said. " _She managed to take out a few of the Teeth before even getting our powers."_

" _I still say she got lucky,"_ Overhand groused. " _Who gets lucky enough to get plant powers while in a forest? Kid's got a fucking angel on her shoulder."_

"…and that's when you attacked Miss Hess."

I refocused on Director Piggot and rolled my eyes. "No. _She_ attacked _me_. I confronted her about hurting my friend. _Hess_ threw two attacks that would have probably landed a normal person in a hospital for a few hours. Having already realized that my friend was being subverted by a cape, and being attacked myself, I took action."

"And then you tried to kill her - "

"Director Piggot," Armsmaster cut in. The woman looked at him and her face scrunched up even further. Crafter laughed. "If you don't want to induct the newest Butcher into the Wards, that's fine. Just tell her no, and send her on her way. But _stop antagonizing_ her. You are not a Cape. You are not in danger here. _I am_. I and _every other cape in this building_. _Stop antagonizing the_ _Butcher_ or get the _fuck out_ and I will call someone competent to handle this interview."

Piggot's face turned red. Before she could start shouting, I leaned back and nodded in her direction. "Ma'am, you really should watch your blood pressure. I can see how bad your veins are right now, and you're really going to give yourself a heart attack or a stroke in a few minutes if you don't calm down."

Piggot twisted back to me. Her mouth opened to say something. Probably to start shouting. But then the door to the room we were in opened and another woman walked in. Piggot's mouth snapped closed and Armsmaster quickly snapped to attention. I waved to the new arrival. The woman just nodded to me as she sat down.

"Director Piggot, you are dismissed."

Piggot didn't even bother fighting back. She just grunted, stood, and stalked out of the room. The new woman met my eyes and the Butchers quieted as they appraised her.

" _Something familiar about this one,"_ Wolf murmured.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Hebert. I am Chief Director Costa-Brown. Before we continue, would you like your father present for this interview?"

"Not particularly, no. He hasn't really been super present in my life recently and he's just going to freak out once he understands what happened. I'd rather that be when we're not having to deal with the PRT as well if that's okay."

"That's perfectly fine, Miss." She shuffled some papers and after getting her folder in order, clasped her hands on the tabletop, staring at me again. "Now, I am led to understand that you wish to join the Wards?"

I nodded. "That's correct. I could do the whole Independent Hero thing, but I don't really see that ending well. I'm half convinced that I'm going to stay in power anyway if someone kills me, but I'd rather not test the theory, and having a team for backup would be nice."

Armsmaster grunted and the Chief Director nodded. "There have been two prior heroic Butchers. They did not survive particularly long amongst the onslaught in their mind. The first lasted for approximately two months. The second made it barely three weeks before she succumbed."

"Actually, I'm glad you brought up Regret." I tapped the table. "One condition I have for this is that I want it made public that she was a hero. She was small-time so nobody knows about her or her power. They think that the Rage Butcher was some random psycho; not a good woman who got shafted because she made a mistake and the wrong person died while still under her influence."

"I'm sure that can be arranged easily enough."

" _You don't have to do that,"_ Regret murmured. I just patted her metaphysical hand and sent a bit of warmth towards her.

"As to my concern, Ms. Hebert…"

"I'm in control of the voices. They can talk and they can yell if they want. But they don't get a say unless I let them have a say. It's like I have 13 mentors in my head. Granted some are complete assholes and I'm fairly sure that at least one wants me dead, but the rest are actually decent. It's like they're grateful for some order and a hierarchy for once…"

The Chief Director rubbed at her chin as she considered that. "Do you know _why_ you are able to keep them in order when no one else was previously able to do so?"

"No idea. They don't know either. I'm not looking the gift horse in the mouth. Teeth are rotten but it would make for good glue and…" I trailed off sighing. "Yeah, my humor _has_ been affected by this situation. Please ignore my attempts at jokes. I'm trying to police myself, but I've rather lost some of my filter."

She nodded. "Very well. You understand that there will have to be limitations."

"I don't have any problems fighting with kid gloves, but I can't agree not to use my powers. All of my powers. The Butchers would start getting annoying if I don't use their abilities every once in a while and though I can keep them muted, they see things that I don't. I'd be much more effective if they are helping - and that means I need to be free to use _all_ of my powers."

"I was afraid of that," she sighed. "I'll see what I can do. Moving on for the moment, we need to discuss Snowbird and Lightning Rod. They were sighted arriving in Brockton Bay at approximately the same time as yourself. None of the other members of the Teeth have made an appearance. We are fairly certain that we know why, but I would like your confirmation."

I fidgeted, suppressing a grimace.

" _Come on kid, own the carnage!"_ I muted Vein with a sigh. He knew better than to say things like that.

"I saw the news story last night. It got most things right even if it was speculation. When I triggered, I triggered as a Druid. My trees basically ate most of them while they chased me. I didn't even realize I had killed the Butcher while running away until I was getting yelled at and started teleporting instead of running."

"And Snowbird and Lightning Rod?"

"They're not that bad. Get them some therapy, surround them with heroes, and they'll be good people. They were just pulled into a bad crowd. The others were crazy. Those two are nice. Mostly."

Armsmaster frowned as he looked at me. "You are asking us to put them in the Protectorate?"

"Well Snowbird is Wards age, but for Lightning Rod? Yeah. Please? They're the last of the Teeth. Isn't it better to convert your enemies rather than kill them? These two didn't even do anything besides rob a few stores."

The Chief Director eyed me for a long moment. "Would it cause the Butchers to be more helpful if they were still working alongside the final two members of their last team?"

"Yes. But that's not really why I'm asking. Snowbird doesn't deserve to be railroaded because she was an idiot."

" _Your heart is going to get you killed, child,"_ Butcher hissed.

" _Because your strength worked_ so _well for you, buddy_." I muted him and spread my arms before the Director. "Just a bit of help. If they mess up, that's on them. I'm just trying to see that they have a chance."

"It's been done before." The Chief Director nodded once. She pushed her folder towards me and I snatched it, flipping it open. "Ms. Hebert, we're willing to take you on. You will have to undergo weekly psych evals, all carefully monitored. Your team will be informed of your status. They will have the final say if they are comfortable working with you in close proximity. We will need to run a full power testing gamut on you to determine exactly what your limits are and how much influence the prior holders' minds have on you. There will likely be more terms later as we understand the full implications of this. Is this acceptable as is for the moment?"

I smiled. "I'm looking forward to working with you Ma'am."

She chuckled and Armsmaster grunted. "And I you, Ms. Hebert. Now, let's deal with the minutiae."

* * *


	15. Taylor and Charlotte's Great Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of two new stories today!

**Premise:** _Scion decides to leave after an unspecified event which occurs shortly after/before/during the S9 Arc of canon. Taylor has already acquired Charlotte as a minion. With Scion's departure, all capes are depowered. The PRT/Government begins to aggressively round up Villains and prosecute them for everything under the sun. Charlotte saw the writing on the wall and convinced Taylor to leave just in time to avoid being caught up in everything. The two are forced to go on the run to avoid the law cracking down on Warlord Taylor._

* * *

**Taylor and Charlotte's Great Escape**

I glared at the fuel gauge willing, with my considerable power, for it to rise. In stark defiance to my might, the indicator stayed steady on the E. The light even turned on, as if to mock me.

"Gas station is under a mile ahead," Charlotte said. She folded her map and stared out the window.

"Can't stop."

"Then are we walking? Because the next town is 40 miles."

I did not growl. But I may have hissed a little. "Stupid fucking northeast. I thought we lived in the _urban_ states. What happened to there being cities every 10 miles?"

"We do live in an urban state, Taylor," Charlotte said. I didn't have to turn to see her stupid smirk. "If we were in the Midwest, the next town would be one _hundred_ miles. Or more…I think there's a few places in Texas where the next town is like two or three hundred miles distant."

"We should go to Texas."

"Still gonna need gas for that, Taylor."

I scowled, flipping on the blinker as the station rolled into sight. "Get your mace and your stun gun ready."

"Not _everyone_ is looking for you," she sighed.

I was still proud that she got both self-defense tools palmed as we stopped at the pump. I took a breath to center myself, grabbed the prepaid card and got out to fill the tank. One look at the pump was all I needed to know we were going to have problems here.

_**ALL TRANSACTIONS MUST BE COMPLETED INSIDE THE OFFICE.** _

_**THIS PRECAUTION IS TO ENSURE THAT ALL OUTSTANDING** _

_**FUGITIVES ARE PROPERLY REPORTED TO THE AUTHORITIES.** _

_**WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.** _

I glared at the sign, my scowl deepening and my hand closing on the baton strapped to my thigh. Glancing at Charlotte, I inclined my head towards the shop and stalked forward. We would not be brought in by some two bit security guard at a _fucking gas station_. If the entirety of Brockton Bay Police Department, the PRT, plus whoever the _fuck_ those pyscho sheriff's were in the last town couldn't do it, no way was this asshole going to get the satisfaction.

Her hand closed on my arm and I jerked to a stop. "You stay with the car; I'll go take care of it." Charlotte let go of my arm, brushing her hand over my shoulder and walked past me before I could protest.

She was right of course. Very few people knew her face, whereas I was the one with my mug plastered over all of the major news stations on half the East Coast.

And yet… _I_ was the one who knew how to fight. _I_ was the one with the baton. _I_ was the one okay with hurting anyone who threatened us. It should have been _me_ going inside.

Fucking Emily Piggot. Fucking PRT. Fucking government. Fucking _heroes_. None of them ever did a damn thing to actually help people at all and then the _instant_ that the threat of powered reprisal went away, it was open season. Those of us who hadn't played the game or dealt with their bullshit, we were all up for grabs, because that was _just the way things worked_.

Heaven forbid you try to call out the hypocrisy. Heaven forbid you try to do good as a 'villain'. Heaven forbid you try to help people outside of _their_ strictly defined rules. No, you get treated worse than Jack Slash himself.

Fucking _heroes_! I kicked the tire and tasted blood in my mouth from where I had bitten through my cheek. Forcing myself to relax, I took several deep breaths.

I would show them all. Come after me? Come after my people? Come after my _friends_ to draw me out?!

I'd show them who they were messing with. They wanted me to be the Big Bad Villain? They thought I was scary when I could control insects?

I would show them what a Villain _really_ looked like. I would show them what I could really do. Now that they had taken my friends and hurt my people and driven me into a corner…now they would learn what it meant to be afraid of Taylor _Fucking_ Hebert.

I wasn't Skitter anymore, I was _more_ than just the bug girl now. And they would _learn_. And they would be _sorry_.

All I needed to do first was get Charlotte and myself somewhere safe so that we could rebuild and regroup. And then I could get everyone back and I would grind this whole goddamn country into the ground under my heel.

Two muffled shouts rang out from the store. I was running before I was even consciously aware that I had started moving. The baton was in my hand as I crashed through the doors, my eyes taking in the scene in moments as the glass parted.

Charlotte was crouched down by the side of the counter, her arms over head. The cashier was advancing on her, one hand holding a gun vaguely pointed in her direction, the other wiping at his eyes with a scowl on his face and snot running down his nose. There was a single camera in the corner pointed towards us, but there was no light indicating it was on. The idiot cashier hadn't even thought to place Charlotte between me and him, and worse, he was turning towards me.

As soon as the gun's sight line cleared my friend, I smashed my baton down on his arm. The cashier cried out, crumpling to the floor, the gun flying from his hand. I grabbed it midair, shifting my baton to my off hand, then racked the slide to make sure there was a round in the chamber and that the safety was off. Finally, I stepped to Charlotte's side and held the weapon on the enemy.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a small bruise," she replied, standing and shuffling behind me. "He said I looked pretty and that if I helped him out he wouldn't report us…"

"I see." My eyes narrowed and I glanced around the store again. The cashier was still crying and cradling his broken arm. "No one else here?"

"No."

"Turn the pump on, take the cash, wipe the tapes if there are any and wait in the car."

"Taylor…"

I shifted so that I could keep the cashier in my sight as I talked to her. "Charlotte, how many people do you think he's done this to before? We can't be the first pretty teenage villains to drive out this way. We wouldn't have been the last either."

She shut her eyes, bit her lip, and nodded once. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm not," I replied, just as softly.

As Charlotte finished up in the store and hurried out to the car, I knelt down in front of the cashier. He finally looked up at me, the fear in his eyes centered me and cemented my decision. "Do you know who I am?"

"Taylor Hebert, America's Most Wanted, Number 6."

"Six now? I'm moving up. Well, just so we're clear, I would've been happy to just get gas and be on my way. You escalated this by hurting my friend. You've shown me that you've done this before and will just keep doing it again."

"No, no, I swear I just wanted to -"

"I'm glad that I get to find out who I am thanks to this whole fucked up situation," I said, cutting him off. He cringed back, whimpering. "The government wanted to make an example of me. They wanted to make me a figurehead. They miscalculated. Now they are going to get exactly what they were most afraid of. They are going to get _me_."

"What are you planning to do?" he whispered.

I smiled, it was not a pleasant expression and he backed away further until his back was against the nearest food rack. Potato chips and candy bars clattered down to the floor all around him. "Me, oh, well, currently I'm just monologuing long enough for my girlfriend to finish filling the gas tank. I think it's been long enough now don't you?"

He jerked his head, the stupid fool.

In one smooth motion, I lifted the weapon, took aim, and pulled the trigger. "Thanks for the gun."


	16. Hogwarts: An Escalation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Story 2 of 2 for today! So real talk here, this one is probably one that is going to get its own thread depending on reception. I've been searching for a good way to meld Harry Potter and Worm for...a long time.

_**Premise:** Taylor is knocked into Harry Potter's world thanks to a Bakuda bomb right before the start of Harry's Fifth Year. Taylor does _not _meet Harry first. She still endeavors to help the messed up situation. And...she still has her power..._

* * *

**Hogwarts: An Escalation**

"I don't really know what this bomb does," Bakuda said, tossing a small, misshapen grenade into the air and catching it. My eyes never left the bouncing death ball, even while my bugs tracked all of my downed teammates and the nearby Wards.

How in the hell had this crazy bitch gotten the drop on all of us? Where were the Protectorate to backup the Wards? Where were the Travelers to back us up? Where was _anyone_? How the freaking _hell_ was _I_ the only one still able to move after Bakuda's opening pain grenade?!

"You know, I think that this was the one I based off of Professor Haywire's tech. But I'm also pretty sure I dialed that up to like a gazillion."

"That's…not a real…word, lady."

For once in your damn life Sophia, shut the fuck up. Shadow Stalker's mask had been knocked loose during Bakuda's initial attack so my tormentor's face was clearly visible. I didn't particularly care if the bitch died, but anything she did to provoke Bakuda would get all of us killed.

Hell, even Tattletale had realized that!

My one Hail Mary was to sic all of the nearby bugs onto Bakuda at once, but she would still get at least one grenade off first. I had to be careful and try to tie her up first. Or at least muck up the gun if I could.

"Shush girl or I'll use something _special_ on you," Bakuda snarled. She ran a hand through her hair and chuckled. "Now where was I? Oh, right! I either turned this into the Dimension Kick or the Blackhole Bomb. Which do you think would be more fun to die by Wardy?"

Vista managed to flop over onto her back and tilted her head just enough to glare at Bakuda. "What does…it even…matter? Both are…death sentences!"

"They're not…for us," Tattletale said, her head lolling towards Bakuda and a scowl marring her face. "We're just…fucking guinea pigs. She made them for…the fucking Endbringers."

"Ooh, we got a smart one!" Bakuda crooned. My stomach dropped. I remembered Tattletale explaining Bakuda's nearly psychotic need to be recognized as the smartest person around and to leave a legacy. If she built this bomb for an Endbringer, she was _going_ to use it here for the test, no matter what. I called all of the bugs I could reach. There wasn't time for subtle and there wasn't time for reinforcements.

"Being smart won't save you. Hey, tall, dark, and mysteriously bleeding to death, you're the Undersider leader right?" Bakuda asked, pointing towards Grue. He moaned. "Thought so. Aegis is still flopping like a fish so you're up! What hand do you all die by? Left or right?"

Grue groaned again.

I shifted so my feet were under me and got my bugs into position. They could handle the grenade and then I could tackle her and get the second one as well as the bandolier. I could do this. I could do this. It was all about timing.

Tattletale caught my eye, her mouth gaped and she tried to gasp something out.

Too late.

"Left it is! Thank you for your sacrifice to the greater good!" Bakuda flicked a switch and lobbed the grenade.

My swarm surged over the nearby cars, the fliers carrying the spiders and their airborne web underneath. I rocketed to my feet at the same time and sprinted towards Bakuda. The web caught the bomb and carried it overhead. I slammed into Bakuda, using my baton to smash her arm against the ground and knock the second bomb away.

"Get off me you fucking bitch!"

"Skitter!" Tattletale shouted. "Toe ring detonators! Toe rings!"

"Got it!" I yelled back. The bugs I had on Bakuda shifted targets, surging from her mask to her boots. My fingers scrambled to unlatch her bandolier and throw it to the side even as she managed to roll us over.

Bakuda grappled my arms and kicked her legs up into my chest, knocking me over her shoulders. It didn't do anything to stop the inevitable tide of bugs invading her footwear, but it did get me flipped over her so that we were lying face-to-face.

"You _will not_ take this moment from me!" she snarled.

A shiver ran up my spine and I tried to pull my arms loose from her grip but she held them like a vice.

"Skitter, _move_!"

"Skitter!"

Tattletale and Vista's twin shouts rang out and I could feel Vista's attempt to warp space behind me. I couldn't move to roll through it though. Not fast enough.

Bakuda had already triggered her bomb.

* * *

The world swirled around me, a kaleidoscope of color, a symphony of a sound…an orchestra of pain. So, so much pain. Fire coursed through my veins, ice tore across my skin and needles laced through my nerves.

The bugs that had been on my body were spasming along with me, their forms running left and right and curling up with their legs twitching.

All at once, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. I crashed from a foot up and slammed to the ground. Struggling to breathe through the pain, I curled into a ball, whimpering.

Bakuda's wail rent through my awareness. I managed to lift my head just enough to see her through the air a few feet away. Right over the edge of a nearby cliff. Her scream cut off abruptly with a distant wet splat.

I rolled over onto my back letting loose a desperate sounding giggle. "That's what you get, bitch."

"What the bloody _hell_?!"

I craned my head towards the feminine exclamation. My mask was cracked leaving one of the lenses blurry, but it was enough to be able to see the girl standing there. She was a teenager like me, maybe 15, blonde, dressed in black robes with an azure trim that set off her gorgeous ice blue eyes…and she was clutching a wavering wooden stick aimed in my direction.

"Wh-who are you? Are you with the Dark Lord?"

"I'm Skitter," I said, the words feeling like sandpaper in my throat. Then I started coughing, coughing hard enough that I was seriously considering if it wouldn't be easier just to hack up a lung and get it over with. By the time the attack subsided I pulled my hands away from my mouth and saw blood on them. "Pretty sure I'm about to pass out. Tell the Undersiders that Bakuda's dead would you? My bugs'll…" I had to pause to gather my strength to keep going and force down the cough that wanted to bubble up again. "My bugs'll make sure of it. She won't get a chance…to set off…the big…bomb."

The blonde stepped closer as my voice got weaker. Her stick stopped shaking quite so violently as she crouched down next to me, reaching out a hand to touch my cheek. "I don't know who those people are."

"Fuck," I murmured. I coughed again, the pain in my chest spreading towards my fingers. "Tell them myself…when I wake up…"

"You need a mediwitch."

"Probably."

The world faded to black as I heard her shouting for her father.

* * *

I could feel people moving around through the mansion I was in thanks to the flies and the spiders. It was a big house, lots of rooms, few people. Must be the rich area of town. My lucky day. As I realized that my swarmsense was back, I slowly started to get awareness of my body back as well.

"Oh, she's regaining consciousness, Lord Greengrass."

Two women, one man, plus the teenage girl from outside were in the room with me. There was a younger girl, maybe 13 pacing in the hallway outside. Down in the kitchen I counted two more children working, though they seemed…misshapen.

This was a strange household.

Wait. The bugs in the room rearranged themselves.

Fucking hell, they had taken off my mask!

"Miss, can you hear me?" the man asked. Awfully polite for someone breaking the Unwritten Rules. "I would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."

"Dear, we don't even know if she can understand us yet," the previously silent woman chided.

The blonde teen snorted. "Yes we do. I told you, she sounded American. Hey, we know you're awake, get up!"

"Daphne!"

I smirked as I leveled myself up to a sitting position. The girl's - Daphne's - parents took a step back. The other woman, presumably the medic, just nodded and waved another long stick in my direction. All three of the adults had eyes that were just as unusually bright as Daphne's. Her father's were shining gold and her mother's deep silver, while the medic's were near burning burgundy. What the hell was with people's eyes here?

"She appears fine, though I'm still seeing that tumor in her head. Apparently I can't do anything about that since it just grows back. At least it appears benign, though I've never seen a magical malady like that before. If she consents to more tests let me know."

"I'm _right_ here," I said, arching my eyebrows.

"And you're a minor with an unknown family. I default to the Lord and Lady who found you. Lord Greengrass, make sure she takes her potions, it'll prevent any further complications."

"We will."

"Good. In that event, I'll be off, good day to you all." The woman bowed her head and was gone from the room almost before I could blink.

"Wow, great bedside manner," I muttered. Shaking my head, I looked to the man standing nearby. "Thank you for healing me. Am I to assume that the Truce is in effect, since you took off my mask in the process?"

"Truce?" Lord Greengrass frowned. "I'm unfamiliar with what truce you're referring to, Miss. Perhaps we should start over. I am Cyrus Greengrass, Lord of the Greengrass family. This is my wife, Cassandra, and eldest daughter, Daphne. You are…?"

If the English accent hadn't been enough of a clue, the freely given names were certainly a major flag. I shut my eyes and scowled, clenching my hands. I have to grab hold of the bugs in the mansion and the surrounding grounds to stop them from skittering about in response to my agitation.

"I'm a long way from home. You can call me Skitter, as for why I'm here? That mess at the bottom of your cliff sent me here when one of her bombs went off. She was trying to kill me. Looks like the stupid bitch grabbed the wrong bomb."

"Bomb?" Daphne asked. "You said that outside too. What is that?"

"What is The Bomb?" Cassandra stared at her daughter. At least I wasn't the only one taken aback by the question. "My God, what are they teaching you at that school these days? Daphne, The Bomb is a Muggle contraption. It's exceedingly dangerous, even to magicals."

My eyes narrowed. They were using wooden sticks and the nurse had spoken of potions. Either this was the most insane Myrddin Cult ever…or Bakuda's bomb had sent us further than just England…Magic couldn't be real…could it?

"Does the word Endbringer mean anything to you? Or Parahuman?" I asked. There was a quick and easy way to prove where I was. Quick, easy, and terrifying.

Cyrus frowned as he looked at me. He slowly shook his head. "Considering that you sound as if you are speaking in capital letters, no. No, it does not. I think we should move this conversation to my study. We seem to have quite a bit to discuss, Miss Skitter."

"Yes," I said, my mouth suddenly very dry. "Yes, I think we do."


	17. Emotional Support...Xenos?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This one is more intended as Crack instead of anything serious. I'll be writing a few more snippets in this verse though most of them will probably be smaller in general. Crack!Fic is best is small doses after all!

_**Premise:**_ _Taylor can create xenomorphs and they listen to her commands - mostly. No one else is happy about this situation. No one._

_Amy: "Mom…why have we accepted the unstable monster spawner into New Wave?"  
_ _Carol: "I think your aunt is afraid of what she would do if we said no…"  
_ _Vicky: "I actually really like her; she's super nice!"_

* * *

**Emotional Support…Xenos?**

Amy stared at the New Girl. The New Girl who was currently rubbing the side of her pet monster's head with one hand and the top of its elongated skull with her other; all while whispering to the nightmare thing in a near _coo_. This was horrible. This was beyond horrible. This was…It would be easier to deal with the Slaughterhouse Nine than _this_.

"Mom," Amy said, carefully keeping all emotion out of her voice as she sidled to Carol's side. "What the hell is MQ doing in our living room?"

"She doesn't like that name. She prefers Colony, Amy," Carol replied, her own eyes also locked on the tableau in front of them.

"What the hell is _Colony_ doing in our living room?"

"She's officially a member of New Wave now. We're having a press conference in 10 minutes. That's why I called you back home."

Amy worked at making words for several seconds. All the words she reached for died before they could make it to her mouth. All the words. They died. Just like the Monster's victims would. Just like this city would. Everyone was going to die. And her family had welcomed the Monster Queen in with welcome arms.

Maybe it was time to get emancipated and move out…

"Why is the unstable monster spawner accepted into New Wave, Mom?" Was that her voice? How did it come out so _calm_?

Carol winced, her eyes never leaving Colony. "I'm fairly certain your aunt is 'concerned' about what would happen if we said no."

"Uh huh."

"You understand now, right?" Colony stated. She pulled back just enough to shake a finger in the Monster's face. It's massive head bobbed once and it dropped down on its doubled-hinged legs enough that it could bump its head against Colony's outstretched hand.

"Aww, that's a good boy! We're going to do so much better this time!"

Just then the door to Vicky's room rocked open and her sister charged into the upstairs hall, full costume already on. Glancing over the railing, her hand flew to her mouth and she nearly squealed. "Oh my god, is that Zeno?! And it's hugging you! That's adorable!"

Vicky flew over the staircase dropping to hover right next to Colony and the Monster. The Monster took offense to that apparently as it immediately turned its head towards her, the second jaws snapping out, _just_ shy of Vicky's nose. Vicky barely even reacted, just grinning wider and reaching out to run a hand down the smooth scaled body of the thing.

Before it could try snapping again, Colony rapped a fist on the Monster's skull. "No! Zeno, what did we _just_ talk about? No. Biting!"

The Monster shuffled its weight from one leg to another and its tail whipped around in a complicated pattern. Vicky just kept petting the abomination and Colony just shook her finger in its face. "No. Victoria is a _friend_. No biting friends!"

Its tail drooped, slithering between its legs. What was that noise? That high pitched whimpering sound?

Oh that was her. Oh fantastic. Now the Monster was going to know that she was weak and easy prey. This was just getting _better_ and _better_.

"Hey, Taylor, didn't you say there was a second one? One that was a quadruped?"

"Oh, yeah. Ah, damn, where did Spike go? Zeno, do you know where Spike went?"

"Oh god," Amy gasped. Carol nodded enthusiastically, already reaching for her cellphone.

"Nazis? Why would Spike go after the E88?"

The Monster lifted its head and centered its gaze on Amy and Carol, its lips rising in a silent snarl and drool spilling out onto the carpet even as the second mouth snapped the air. Amy flinched.

"Oh you guys wanted to do something nice for our new team?"

Vicky nodded. "That's really sweet. Is it going to try and capture one of the Empire guys?"

Colony winced. "Umm…hooopefully…? Zeno's pretty smart, but Spike takes a bit longer to understand complicated things."

Carol cleared her throat. "Taylor, does 'complicated' include not killing gang members?"

Colony hurriedly shook her head. "Oh Spike won't kill anyone! Not unless they shoot at him first. I mean, he might try to abduct someone and bring them back to the hive, then cocoon them for the Huggers…I should probably check the hive to make sure that the Huggers are all in suspended animation. And that no one is cocooned."

"Yes. Yes, please do that. Immediately. We'll…reacquire Spike."

 _Definitely_ time for emancipation.


	18. Emotional Support...Xenos? - Chapter 2

**Emotional Support...Xenos? - Part 2**

"How hard can it be to find _one_ runaway?" Piggot spat. No one in the room answered her. "She's a _child_. A child who isn't even smart enough to cause her victim to trigger in _private_."

"Ma'am that is highly inappropriate and - " Colin started to say. Piggot's spittle nearly made it across the table to him as she glared at him, her lips curling. Colin just grunted and fell silent.

"As I was saying," Piggot continued, the scowl not dropping from her features for a moment, "I want Hess _found_! It's bad enough that we have Nilbog Jr. _on my backdoor_. That I'm being forbidden from _doing_ anything about this _nightmare_ is - " Piggot paused, smoothed her suit jacket, took a deep breath, and shook her head. "What I mean to say is, I cannot take action against a non-hostile member of New Wave. I _can_ take action against the instigator of this mess. I want Hess found. I want her brought in. I want her nailed to a cross and I want that cross thrown into the ocean."

"No wonder she ran once MQ triggered…" Ethan muttered. He let out a quiet _oof_ as Jessie elbowed him. Colin sighed. Would it kill him to use the Hebert girl's chosen moniker? 'Colony' really was a far more appropriate name than 'Monster Queen' after all.

They weren't even monsters. Not really. They were remarkably efficient creatures with extremely unusual biological processes. Processes he dearly wanted to examine. In a clean room. Behind several layers of containment. And multiple robotics doing the examinations. Acid blood was nothing to play around with.

"A probationary Ward managing to slip her leash well enough to simply _vanish_ is not a laughing matter," Piggot hissed.

Ethan held up his hands. "Look, Ma'am, none of us are saying that Sophia wasn't messed up. We aren't saying that she shouldn't go back to juvie. But if you go after her all torches and pitchforks just because you can't go after the girl you really want to screw over…It's not going to end well…for anyone."

Piggot's face twisted into a rictus of the very monster she despised for a bare instant before she gained control again. Colin shut his eyes. He was going to have to act. This was so…inane. Why couldn't she see how useful those creatures could be? Certainly there were safety concerns and it would be useful if Colony explained exactly how they transitioned from the larval stage to the adult…but the benefits of obedient massed shock troops that bled acid and were fast and deadly…The force multiplier for Endbringer battles alone was astounding, let alone what they could do for more traditional threats; Nilbog wouldn't stand a chance.

The Gloom creature had already proven nearly immune to most energy blasts, except while it was in its shadowy state. That this state greatly increased its already natural stealth capabilities more than made up for the detriment. It was a shame the Zeno and Spike variants didn't seem to have any unique abilities like that. Perhaps if they could determine what had caused the mutation…Spike was a quadruped and Zeno seemed just as intelligent as Gloom if less prone to sulking…Was there a difference in the gestation? Colony had mentioned something about the Huggers imprinting…

"Armsmaster!"

Colin's attention snapped back and he narrowed his eyes at Piggot. "Ma'am, as I informed you previously; the claim made by Miss Barnes has been dismissed. Please cease this method of attack."

Piggot's fists curled and for a moment he was worried she was going to cut her palms. "How _dare_ you." She nearly hissed as her lips pulled back and her teeth bared.

Colin just sighed. Dammit. "Director Piggot, please, step back, and look at the situation rationally."

"I will not let that menace have free reign of my city!" she roared slamming her fists onto the table hard enough to slosh the coffee cups. "She is a murderer and she will kill everyone here if we don't find some way to stop her monsters!"

Dammit, dammit, dammit. Why couldn't people be _rational_? "I'm sorry, Ms. Piggot." He stood, clasped his hands behind his back and stared at the wall as he started reciting the manual, "Under Article 12, Subsection D, Paragraph 2, I, Armsmaster, hereby relieve Director Emily Piggot of her command." Shouts rang out, but he ignored them and continued. "As a matter of record, the former Director has shown, through repeated action, a clear discriminatory bias, and intent to aggressively pursue a heroic, affiliated, parahuman, with the potential to drive said parahauman to becoming an A-Class threat. Let the record also reflect that said parahuman is a part of another affiliated heroic group and has unique potential to provide assistance against current - and future - A and S-Class threats. Due to her clearly stated prejudice and single-minded determination to mete out personal vengeance in response to past experience, discounting all current events, the Director is unfit for duty. Her authority is revoked and passes to the Deputy in the interim. Should Deputy Director Renick be unable to complete his newly assumed duties, the mantle will pass to the leader of the local Protectorate branch, Armsmaster, until such time as the PRT Chief Director appoints a new Director."

He sat back down, still staring at the wall as the room continued to explode around him.

Renick better be able to take over for Piggot.

If _Colin_ was forced into the woman's role…He'd _never_ be able to study those creatures and find the best way to utilize them for future operations.

No. No, Renick would be fine. He had to be fine. All he had to do was keep up the search for Sophia Hess and maintain a mild peace for two or three weeks, then a new appointment would be made. And in the meantime, Colin would be free to work with Colony and her creatures. Such an efficient morphology practically _demanded_ a thorough review and development strategy!

Certainly _one_ of them would be docile enough to assist in his tests. With adequate restraints of course. One could never be too careful.

* * *

" _The sudden resignation of Director Emily Piggot of the PRT ENE came as a shock today. We'll hear in a few moments from one of the local doctors in Brockton Bay who believes that the former Director's health has finally caught up to her. Let's go to Brad for this developing story."_

Taylor frowned as the news flipped over to one of their reporters at Brockton Bay Hospital. Spike lifted his head from the ground and hissed. The damn thing probably sensed her confusion. Or something. Did she have pheromones? Was that how she controlled them?

Controlled. Sure. Neil suppressed a groan as the flashes of the prowling nightmare played in his mind. That they had caught the thing before it attacked a group of Empire grunts was a minor miracle. That they had managed to convince it to go home was even more outrageous. He couldn't figure out what was more terrifying, that these creatures could sneak around so effectively, or that they were smart enough to at least sort of listen when people spoke to them.

"Huh," Taylor said, rubbing one hand on the crown of Spike's head. "I wonder why she's retiring. Hey, Neil, do you think it's really because she's sick? I know she didn't look healthy that one time we met, but hasn't she been dealing with that issue for years? That's what Vicky was saying."

"Yeah. I wonder why." He stared directly at the creature curled up on his floor. They had to convince the girl to get an apartment. She couldn't stay here. She could _not_ stay here.

"She must have realized that she was going to be out of a job soon!" Taylor nodded, a wide smile splitting her face. Spike's tail thrashed in a horribly disturbing parody of a wagging dog's tail. "Once Gloom gets her guys in line and we have a few more buddies, then the gangs won't stand a chance! The Director's just leaving before we make her look bad."

Neil dropped his head into his hands. It was only because of his vast experience dealing with Eric and Crystal that he was able to avoid groaning. "Yes, Taylor. I'm sure that's the real reason." He was not strong enough to avoid sarcasm.

At least her creatures didn't seem able to understand _that_.


	19. Emotional Support...Xenos? - Chapter 3

**Emotional Support Xenos - Chapter 3**

" _What Do You Mean Lung is Missing?!" - Velocity_

.

"You cannot tell me that you don't see this connection Armsmaster."

Armsmaster didn't even bother to grunt at Dauntless' comment. Instead, he finished attaching his halberd to his motorcycle, set the charge cycle, and only then, did he turn to meet the younger man's accusing gaze. Irritating. "You will have to be more specific."

He didn't need the enhanced senses in the armor to pick up Dauntless' grinding teeth. What had the slacker up in arms _now_?

"Okay, let me put this in terms that even a Tinkering obsessed Tinker can understand. Colony comes onto the scene. She makes monsters."

"Creatures."

" _Monsters_. Lung disappears after specifically going to fight her two nights ago. _Tonight_ she has a _new_ monster that molts and grows to double its size once it starts fighting something! _She's a wet Tinker_! And she's using _people_ as her test beds!"

Armsmaster groaned. This was becoming so incredibly frustrating. If people kept accusing the girl of this nonsense he would have to talk to New Wave directly about it soon. That would never end well, not with Carol Dallon being the one he would have to deal with. Perhaps he should see if they could get Director Armstrong transferred into the city…That man was supposed to be good with this sort of public relations thing. Perhaps he could take point on the issue?

Apparently some idiots were saying that Director Tagg should be moved down to replace Piggot. All that was going to accomplish would be to set off a war with the gangs in record time and then he would _never_ get to finish his new project. Or his collaboration with Colony.

"That assertion is markedly untrue."

"Armsmaster I - "

"I have categorical proof, Dauntless. Stop trying to incite a panic along with half the other people in this city. Drop it."

Dauntless took a half step back and his movement froze as his helmet locked on Armsmaster. "You have _proof_ that she's benign?"

"I've seen the central nesting grounds of her 'xenomorphs'. It's an odd name for the creatures, but I can see why she chose it. They have distinct phases of their life cycle. Egg, larval, juvenile, and adult all with a markedly different morphology between each stage. There appears to be some sort of inherent mutation evident that is introduced between the larval and juvenile part of their development, but I have yet to determine exactly how that mutation element is introduced."

Dauntless walked closer to him, moving fast enough that a lesser man would have called it a run. "And you are _certain_ that she is not…converting capes into these new monsters?"

Armsmaster clenched his fist and practiced the breathing exercises that Dragon had shared with him. Only another 68 seconds until the charging was complete and then he could finish his patrol. That he'd had to deplete his motorcycle's boosters to get to the scene, only to find Dauntless fretting over _nothing_ , was beyond frustrating. _This_ was who was threatening his position? "Allow me to put this in terms that a non-Tinker can understand. Lung is 6 foot 2 inches and weighs 265 pounds before any effects of escalation set in. The larval form of Grumpy was approximately 14 inches long and weighed 2 pounds. The juvenile form was 2 foot 4 inches and weighed 26 pounds. If Colony _was_ converting people into her xenomorphs, then she would be hard pressed to salvage even just the brain. It simply doesn't fit into the morphology of the younger creatures. There. Is. No. Way. That. Your. Nightmare. Fits. The. Facts. _Drop it._ "

Dauntless held up his hands and backed away. "You know, if she would consent to let more people review her work then these rumors would stop cropping up."

"Do you not trust me?"

Dauntless grunted. "You know it's not that. We're all just…concerned. There have been three more of her monsters since last week and now that…Grumpy, fellow. He's just as big as _Gloomy_. We're worried and she's very cagey about where they come from."

"Grumpy is female," Armsmaster said. A notice flashed in his helmet finally and he nearly moaned in relief at the completion of the charge. "All of the smaller ones are male, but the larger two are female."

"Is there any difference?"

"They're larger." He paced back to his bike and straddled it. "Is there anything further? I need to continue my patrol and I've wasted enough time here."

Dauntless waved his arms around in a reasonably good impression of a headless chicken. "What?! You haven't even looked at the fucking _monster_! It's standing _right there_! You're just going to _leave_?!"

"No." Maybe he could get Dauntless transferred to a new city. The man had personal problems here anyway. A change of venue would be good for him. "I'm going to lead it back home. Grumpy! Follow me; we're heading back to Colony!"

The xenomorph bent down, lifting its head crest in what Armsmaster was coming to recognize as an approximation of agreement and extending its inner jaw in an abbreviated snap at the air. He flipped his motorcycle on and took off. Dauntless was left behind glaring at him while the xenomorph loped down the roadway close behind.

If only more heroes could be as agreeable to work with as Grumpy, his job would be so much simpler.

* * *

"You found Grumpy! Yay!" Taylor exclaimed as the door to the Dallon residence opened. She leaped out and threw her arms over the crouching xenomorph. It dipped its head again, the inner jaws extending just enough to tap her back before sliding back into its mouth again. The ghost of a smile flickered across Armsmaster's mouth as he watched the exchange. "Was she running around the Docks?"

"She had wandered into a confrontation between the several Merchants and Empire gang members," Armsmaster said. "Dauntless responded, but it appeared that she was able to detain most of the members by herself before his arrival."

"Aww, that's a good girl!" Taylor reached up and rubbed the top of the xenomorph's crest. It let off a low hiss which almost had Armsmaster chuckling.

Taylor frowned as she listened to the hiss. She sighed and shook her head. "No, that's fine. No need to be angry with mean old Dauntless. We'll get them next time. And hey, you got to say hello to your friend! That's a good consolation prize right?"

The xenomorph shuffled from side to side and its tail whipped in an interesting pattern. Armsmaster made a note to ask what that meant later on. "I did try to impress on him why his theories were absurd. Hopefully the rumors will start to die down now."

Taylor nodded. "It would be nice. Everybody can see that my xenos are just trying to help, right? I don't know why everyone is focusing on missing psychopaths, kidnappers, and murderers anyway, not when we have new friends helping us to keep the city safe…"

"I have long held that people make very little sense. Technology is much simpler and far easier to understand."

"Well, your tech makes my head hurt to just look at sometimes." Taylor shrugged. "But I get what you're trying to say. Thanks for leading Grumpy home. Did you want to stay for dinner? I think Mark was making meatloaf."

"Unfortunately I do need to finish my patrol. Perhaps another time."

"Okay, that works."

"Taylor? Who's at the door?" Amy Dallon's voice shouted down from inside the home.

"It's just Armsmaster! He brought back Grumpy!"

" _What_?! Your _new_ pet monster got _loose_?! I thought this one was supposed to be smart too? Oh god, not again! _MOM!_ "

Taylor looked back to him and rolled her eyes. "I think I need to go back inside. Thanks again, Armsmaster."

"Have a pleasant evening, Miss Hebert."

"You too! Come on, girl, let's go get you back with the others."

The xenomorph trotted past him into the home and the door shut. As he walked back to his motorcycle Armsmaster nodded to himself. "She really does have a pleasant family now. It's wonderful that they are all so supportive and worried when her creatures are lost…"

* * *

Emma stared at the TV screen, the remote hanging loose in her fingers. "Lung…she killed Lung…She…"

The remote fell, but Emma didn't even hear the ring of the plastic on the floor or see the channel flip. Instead she remembered Sophia's last text stating that she was going to 'find Hebert and take care of the problem'. She heard an abortive scream as Sophia's call cut off, a horrible hiss in the background. She felt the chill from Taylor's smile as she said 'I have new friends now and they'll protect me from you'. She saw two entities…


	20. Emotional Support…Xenos - Chapter 4

**Emotional Support…Xenos - Chapter 4**

"Colony, do you know why Slick is able to alter her own drag coefficient?" Armsmaster asked. He leaned closer trying to get a better view of the underside of the talon of the newest member of Taylor's retinue. Slick obliged him and pushed her leg closer to his helmet letting the zoom adjust itself. "There is a slight shimmer here…I can't quite determine the cause though."

"Mhm, I think it's from those adaptations introduced from the mutations when they go from Hugger to Larva."

He let the xenomorph's talon go and the creature stepped back as Armsmaster stood from the floor, dusting himself off. "And you still aren't sure how that mutation is introduced?"

"…Nope. Not a clue."

Armsmaster heard a scoff and he glanced to the side to see Amy Dallon burrow deeper into her armchair, cradling a mug. Carol was sitting in the chair next to her with a mug of her own and a half empty brandy bottle was on the table between them. Frowning, he turned up the level of the audio receivers in his helmet. "My family is sheltering a lying psycho and Armsy just grins and enables her. How is this my life now?"

"Welcome to adulthood sweetheart," Carol murmured.

"I miss healing. I hate healing. Now I miss hating it. Can I go back to the simple life when I just hated myself and hated that I hated healing?"

Carol let out a long suffering sigh. "Just drink your tea."

Armsmaster's frown deepened and he started to head towards them when Taylor latched onto his arm, grinning wide. "Hey, I heard that the Merchants were breaking up! Did you have anything to do with that?!"

He shook his head and let Taylor lead him to the table, sitting down as Gloomy dropped down out of the shadows over the refrigerator, a mug of coffee in her hands. Accepting the drink with a nod, he sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Battery and I apprehended Mush, but he informed us that they were already beginning to fracture. Skidmark had vanished several days prior and the group was starting to splinter with the infighting. While Mush denied it, I am nearly certain that Skidmark died of an overdose and it was being covered up in a poor attempt to keep what remained of the gang together."

"Ah. Well at least you got him," Taylor said. She sipped from her own mug before she scowled and turned to glare towards the xenomorph. Gloomy hissed, bowing her head to her Mistress. "I said two sugars and a pinch of honey. I swear you do this on purpose." Gloomy's inner mouth extended halfway, hinging open, then pulling back inside as the inky-black creature practically melted back into the shadows. It returned a moment later with another mug.

Taylor took it and after a quick taste nodded. "Much better. Thank you." As the xenomorph retreated, Taylor turned back to Armsmaster with a large smile back on her face. He took off his helmet and returned the expression.

"I never did thank you for sending Gloomy and Grumpy to take down Squealer. Grumpy was a great help getting into the tank."

"Happy to help." She paused, her eyes dropping as she sighed. "I'm…glad that Velocity showed up to arrest her after they got her out of the tank."

"Yes, we don't need her running around on the streets. And while your xenomorphs are incredibly intelligent, I'm not certain they would have been able to hold her for long enough for the PRT to arrive if he had not been close." And no one would be coming after Squealer this time. Not with the capes in the gang gone and most of the unpowered individuals gone to the wind. The new - unmutated - members of Colony's Hive were doing a fantastic job of scaring the remaining gang members out of the city.

"You guys caught Oni Lee right?" Taylor asked, stirring the liquid in her mug.

"We did, yes. Glory Girl brought him in the other day."

Amy, having abandoned her chair, came to stand at the wall separating the kitchen from the living room, her full glare leveled at Taylor. "Vicky totally cockblocked you. Now you can't use the teleporter for more genetic material for your monster brood!"

"Amelia!" Carol hissed. Her arm appeared over Amy's shoulder and dragged her away, back into the other room. Armsmaster just stared after her, his eye twitching. Why did everyone keep _thinking_ that?! He had _proof_ that Taylor's creatures weren't able to do something like that!

Pointless fear. That was all it was. Stupid, pointless fear. It was just lucky that Taylor didn't let it get to her.

He would never be able to collaborate with her if she fell headfirst into depression.

"I heard my name!" Victoria shouted. Shot through the hallway and hovered over the floor looking between the two. "Hi, Colin. Someone call for me?"

"Colin was just saying how you brought in Oni Lee," Taylor said, sighing.

"Oh yeah! I was out with Spike and…ugh, I don't the new guy's name, built like a bull -"

"Matador."

"Right, so I was out with Spike and Matador, and we ran across him and I kind of punted him and he ashed, like always, but he made the mistake of appearing behind Spike and trying to shank the guy. Didn't realize Spike's tail was prehensile. That was hilarious. I have never laughed so hard as I did after I watched Oni get tail-slapped through a wall and knocked out."

"Spike did that?" Taylor asked, frowning as she looked up. "Hmm, so the drones are good at basic tasks but not so good at reporting unless asked…good to know. I'll have to talk with the Praetorians to make sure they know to get the full details of any excursions."

Armsmaster made a mental note to write that down. He was regretting removing his helmet already. He needed his notes! He was going to forget and he - oh, he had already forgotten the primary reason for his visit.

"Taylor, I apologize. I was initially here to advise you there are still no leads in the whereabouts of your father. We've tried expanding the search area again, but it's not looking promising."

She shook her head. "I told you it's pointless. He wouldn't have lived long after the poison Sophia hit him with."

He laid a gauntleted hand on her arm. "You don't know that for sure."

She just smiled and patted his arm as Zeno wandered into the kitchen and bumped up against her back. "I do. The Huggers could tell."

He frowned, opening his mouth to ask a question about what she meant by that before she immediately continued on, her cheer back in full force.

"Oh, I forgot! Now that the ABB and the Merchants are pretty much gone, do we have to worry about the Empire?"

Armsmaster reluctantly made a mental note to follow the inquiry about her creatures sensing terminal illness later. That was an incredibly useful ability if possible. Maybe that was why Amy disliked her so much, she felt Taylor was muscling in on her job?

"We are concerned that the Empire will increase their presence, yes. You shouldn't be worried though. That's what the Protectorate is for, Taylor. We'll handle it. Now I really must be going. I have to get back to my patrol. Have a pleasant evening both of you."

As he stood, and to the door, Slick walked him out. He nodded politely to the xenomorph and straddled his motorcycle. It was only as he peeled away that he saw the new creature slip away from him towards downtown.

Ah well, it probably just wanted to explore a bit. All of the others had gone for short excursions their first few nights as well. He smiled to himself as the bike vibrated beneath him. Taylor's xenomorphs were such good beings.

They were so much more pleasant to deal with than his coworkers.


	21. The End of the Rope - Aftermath 01

**Premise:** In one world Taylor believed she had a weak power, yet she struck out on her own anyway, deciding to make it work. In another, Taylor was convinced she had a weak power, and instead she sought to surround herself with a team for protection. She became a Ward, certain that her ability was useful only to reinforce and buff up others and that she could only ever be a second-rate hero at best.

Blatantly ignoring the niggling at the back of her mind that she is not _using_ her powers in the way she's supposed to is her first mistake. Not asking loudly enough for help when she had a problem is her second.

And from there…Things got worse.

" _She wouldn't stop, why wouldn't she stop? I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm_ sorry _!"_

* * *

**The End of the Rope**

**Aftermath 01**

"I don't care _what_ you have to do, Piggot. _Fix. This_. _NOW_!"

"Ma'am Director -"

Director Costa-Brown slammed her hands onto the table, leaning forward until her face was just inches away from the camera. "Stop. Talking. I'm going to say this in small words so you can understand. Braid is capable of resurrecting people. I don't _care_ that Braid is unstable. I don't _care_ that the girl she brought back is a Villain. She could have brought back fucking _Allfather_ for all the shits I give. _She resurrects capes_. _You fucked this up, Piggot, now unfuck it before I serve her your head on a silver platter_."

The video feed cut out and Emily fell against the backing of her chair with a scowl etched across her face. "I _hate_ capes," she spat.

How had this even happened?

* * *

Armsmaster pointed at the screen, fighting down the urge to rush through this so he could just…get out there. They needed to find Braid. They needed to find her and convince her to come back. They needed to…fix this.

This was his fault. He didn't know what exactly he had done wrong, but he knew he had said something wrong somewhere in the past few weeks and it had been part of the problem. Just the proverbial straw on the back of the camel. Just one more straw. Had it been the final one? The final piece of solder that had caused the short circuit?

"We've begun coordinating with Grue and Hellhound. Both have agreed to search this section of the city. Regent is theoretically patrolling this portion."

Dauntless leaned forward. "How helpful is Regent going to be? I thought that his power was just minor nerve control."

"If we're correct with his previous identity being Hijack, then there is a distinct possibility that he was around Braid long enough for him to have acclimated to her. He'll know if she's in his range. He will certainly be able to find Tattletale should she fall within his purview," Armsmaster sighed, already knowing the next question and seeing no way to prevent it.

"How are we remotely okay with letting someone we think is _Hijack_ come close enough to Braid to Master her?" Dauntless asked. His spine straightened and his hands closed tighter around the coffee mug in his hands, small cracks spider-webbing out from under his fingers.

"If you had read my briefing you would realize that the boy seems to actually like her. Dragon doesn't believe he is as sociopathic as the initial reports indicated. All indications are that he will actually assist in locating them and helping us to recover them before anything…else occurs."

Battery wrung her hands, not looking up as she asked, "Do we know why she ran? I mean _really_ know? Not the PR bullshit that Glenn had us put out?"

"What, bringing her girlfriend back from the dead isn't enough for you? She needs more reason to freak out and run for the hills?" Assault muttered.

Aegis grimaced. "Vista wouldn't really talk about it, but I think it probably has something to do with what happened to the mercenaries in the base."

Armsmaster swallowed hard, his throat suddenly very dry. This was his fault. He had helped to drive her away. He hadn't had time for her when she had asked for his help and he hadn't taken her concerns seriously when she said that she needed assistance with a problem with a fellow Ward.

It hadn't been his problem. It hadn't been his concern.

This was his fault.

"Colin, sit down, I'll handle this," Miss Militia said. He hadn't even realized when she had stood. Blinking, he turned his head to stare at her. She guided him to the nearby seat, and he leaned forward, his helmet resting on the table. He didn't need to see the video again.

"This is Vista's bodycam footage. Carlos, we're nearly certain that she was unconscious for almost all of this, but, we need you to keep a watch on her anyway…just in case." Miss Militia paused long enough that he was sure she was making eye contact with everyone in the room. "None of this ever makes its way to the media. Ever."

* * *

_One Day Prior_

"Congrats, Coil, you've managed to kidnap not just an ex-Ward now, but a _current_ Ward. This is a new level of stupid, even for you, Boss." Tattletale said, chuckling as she leaned back in the chair. Braid was in the seat behind her, head down, hands in her lap, the old Ward costume torn and wrinkled. The way Tattletale angled her chair it was clear that she was keeping herself between Coil and Braid and that while her eyes were locked on the man in the black bodysuit behind the desk, her attention was focused nearly entirely on the unconscious girl in the third seat next to her.

"Come now, Sarah, we both know that I always win in my endeavors. Taking Vista was simply a useful cog in the wheel." His voice was soft, his smile was wide, his hands never left their clasped position in front of his chest. And yet, Tattletale froze solid, barely even seeming to breathe as her eyes widened.

"…So that's how it's going to be, Coil?"

"Surely you always knew it would come to this one day?"

"I'm still useful to you."

"You _were_ yes. But you see, I've gotten rather exhausted dealing with your little rebellions and sabotages. You are _annoying,_ child. Torturing you only works for so long before it gets boring, and I have more important things to do."

She leaned forward, scowling. "Fine then," she spat. "Let's make a fucking deal. You keep me - as your _pet_ ," her whole body shuddered as she hissed the word, "but you let these two go. You can drug me, keep me chained up, whatever the fuck you want. But let them out."

"Now why would I do that?" He smiled as he leaned over the desk. "Braid is wrapped up so nice and pretty for me, like a present. You did such a good job bringing her in."

Tattletale actually growled at that, her knuckles white on the chair's armrests. "Because you manipulated the feeds you sent me, you _bastard_. Did she even kill that girl? Did she ever even _have_ to run?"

"Oh Shadow Stalker is quite dead, yes. Why do you think I'm so willing to trade up? Your power is useful; but hers is better. Coupled with Vista?" He chuckled. "Once the two are broken in, they will be an unstoppable team. I will be able to take complete control. Subtly has its uses, but I cannot be expected to simply walk away from a perfect opportunity for force when it is presented in front of me. Surely _you_ of all people understand, Sarah."

"Tats?" Braid whispered, her head lifting and her hand reaching out to grab at the back of Tattletale's costume. "I thought he was going to help? I thought we were…I thought we were…leaving…" her voice cracked on the last word and tears could be seen falling down the side of her mask.

"You'll never break her," Tattletale hissed.

Coil smirked, shaking his head. "Oh my dear, dear, Sarah. I already have. Five times in fact. Six if you want to count the one I just finished with a few minutes earlier. She's so…simple to deal with at the moment, truly. I imagine Vista will be harder, but I'm willing to put in the effort."

Tattletale's eyes narrowed. "So this is just a throwaway then…"

"Oh no, not at all. You see, Braid is quite devoted to you since you took her in after Shadow Stalker's demise. Keeping you around as a leash was useful, but she has been very distracted lately and I don't want you influencing her. So we're going to go about this a different way. I'm going to try out the methods the Gesellschaft use for their programming. I imagine that I'll get much better results this way!"

Tattletale leaned back, a vulpine snarl crossing her face. "You poor, pathetic, little man. You have no idea of the shit show that is about to rain down on you. Fine. Do whatever you want to me." She turned away, looking at Braid. "Tay? I need you to listen to me, okay?"

"Tats?" Braid's voice was even quieter than before.

"The PRT never blamed you, they never held you responsible, and they were never hunting you. I'm sorry I gave you bad information, I had wrong data and I messed up, I messed up bad. In a few seconds you're going to freak out. That's okay, but I need you to focus when you do. I need you to focus on _him_. _Hurt_ him. Like you did with Sophia. Invert your power. Invert it, flip it, like we talked out, use your _full_ power. _Hurt_ him. _Drain_ him."

Braid's forehead dropped to the small of Tattletale's back. "I-I don't - I don't know _how_ …Tats I don't…I'm _scared_ …Lisa I can't…"

"Oh my poor, Sarah, my poor pet. Do you think I would have let you talk if she was able to do that on command yet?" Coil laughed. He pulled a gun from the desk drawer and laid it on the tabletop. "I was able to get her to drain lifeforce at a touch in one timeline, but I never retrieved Vista in that version and it took nearly three days of effort. I decided it wasn't worth the downsides. Never let it be said I'm not generous though: any last words, pet?"

"Taylor, when it's over, turn on Vista's beacon, turn it on and wait here. The PRT will come and they'll help you. I swear, they will help you. You never had to run and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I -"

The noise of the gun's report was impossibly loud in the small room. Coil laid the smoking weapon back down on the table as Tattletale's still body slumped in her chair. Braid's normally green and brown costume was covered in red along the shoulders as was her mask, hair, and most of her head. Tattletale's costume slipped through her fingers as the blond girl fell forward with nary a sound.

Braid's only reaction was an open mouth and wide eyes. An onlooker could have been forgiven for thinking that she had stopped breathing herself.

The door to the room slid open and three mercenaries trotted inside. The leader looked to Coil who just waved them forward. "Get Vista into her new cell. Do _not_ forget to ensure the animals are in there as well. The last thing we need is for the child to bend the gap in the vault door because some idiot forgot to limit her power. And get Tattletale's body over to Site D. Pitter's team should have everything arranged by now to make it look like she was the culprit of the kidnapping. All we need is the body to complete the illusion."

"What about the team, Boss?"

"I'll handle the Undersiders. You just worry about moving the body. And someone get Braid into her room. Oh, I have so many things to do with you, my pet!"

The first mercenary had reached down to touch Tattletale's body, before every head in the room - except presumably Vista's - snapped to Braid as a keening wail broke from her. She had wrapped her arms around her head and squeezed her eyes shut, screaming her pain such that the world was forced to take notice.

And notice it did.

"For fucks sake kid, it's just a dead body." The mercenary reached out for Braid. He didn't make it. Her eyes snapped open and her hand darted forward. She latched onto his armor-clad wrist, ignoring his shout. The man had a single instant to shake his hand before he dropped to the floor, like a marionette with its strings cut.

The second and third mercenaries shouted. One tried to raise his rifle, even as Coil's eyes widened under his mask and he reached for his gun.

Neither moved fast enough. Braid's eyes blazed with golden light and when she leapt from the chair she was moving almost faster than the camera could capture. The distance was short enough that it was nearly like she had teleported and reappeared standing between the two mercenaries. Both died in under a second beneath her touch.

Coil had managed to raise the gun, but he couldn't squeeze a shot off before she had vanished again and reappeared right behind him, her hand latched on him and slamming him into the desk, screaming all the while. By the time she let him go, Coil's face mask was covered in red and he could only limply claw away from her as she stalked over to him, her eyes glowing bright enough to appear like small stars. He whimpered, holding out his hand, but she just stepped on it, drawing a strangled scream from him. Reaching down, she clenched her hand on his throat. As soon as her hand touched him, he went nearly white with horror.

"Why?!" Coil gasped. Braid's hand squeezed. "Why won't the _right_ one -" His pleas abruptly cut off as the remaining color in his visible skin drained away, his scrabbling arms dropping limp to the floor, just like the mercenaries before him.

Braid stood, twisted, and took a halting step towards Vista's unconscious body. She touched the younger girl, the golden light in her eyes dimming slightly as Vista sat up with a gasp.

"Wha-What the- Braid! Braid we need to -" Vista cut off, the camera feed's jittering freezing as the girl stopped all movement. "Taylor…what's going on?"

"…I killed them. They killed her and I killed them…I just wanted to _leave_ …" Braid whispered. She turned away, stumbled and collapsed next to Tattletale's body. Sobbing, she pulled Tattletale's head into her lap, stroking the sides of the girl's face. "We were going to _leave_ …"

"Taylor…" Vista's voice cracked. She took a deep breath and murmured, "I'm going to call for backup. Just…just don't move, okay? Oh my god, is that _Coil_? Is that who tranq'd me? I don't - no, no I need to call for backup. Look, Braid, um, no one blames you for Stalker okay? We saw the video footage. We know that she attacked you - we don't know _why_ but - please don't go anywhere okay? I just - I'm going to…call for…help."

As Vista's beacon started to flash in the corner of the camera feed, the glow in Braid's eyes began to dim again, this time at an alarming pace. She kept stroking Tattletale's hair, crying, and murmuring something too soft to hear. And the light that had left her eyes flooded into Tattletale. It followed a similar trend to every other time that Braid had bestowed an empowerment, a dull glow through most of the body, centered primarily on the chest; except this version also had a significant amount of light diffused around Tattletale's head - right on her wound.

Braid's eyes were still glowing to a small degree when Tattletale rocketed upright, coughing and spluttering. Vista cursed, nearly falling backward as she stepped all of the way back to the wall. Braid just stared, her tears not slowing.

"Lisa? Are you…Did I…Are you real?"

"Holy shit…Tay." She paused as more coughs wracked her frame. "Did...did you just Night of the Living Dead me?"

"I…I gave you…essence…I didn't think it would…Are you real?"

"Yeah, I'm real." Tattletale looked around them, running her hand through her hair. Her eyes widened as her hand caught on the gore present there and she swallowed hard. "Vista? Are you alright?"

"You were dead." Vista's voice was trembling.

"Believe me, I…I am well aware of that," Tattletale's voice didn't sound much more stable. She turned back to Braid. "Tay, can you sit back down? We should sit and wait for the PRT."

Braid started to move towards her before shouting sounded outside the door accompanied by banging. Vista's finger was just barely visible as she pointed towards it. "Who's outside?"

"We're in Coil's base. He's got a lot of mercs here," Tattletale said, breathing deep. "I can try to tell them that their boss is dead. A lot of them might just leave."

Braid turned to the door, her fists clenched. "No."

"What?" Vista asked.

Tattletale tried to push herself to her feet, but had to catch herself on the desk as she almost fell back down. "Tay, whatever you're thinking, stop. Just, just stop. You don't have to run. I promise, everything is going to be okay. Just please, sit down. _Please_."

"I just wanted to _leave_ …Why won't they let me _leave_?" Braid whispered.

"Taylor please sit down."

"Taylor, you should listen to her," Vista whispered.

"Lisa, I'm going to stop them. And then we're going to _leave_." Braid's voice broke. And then she vanished, once again moving too fast for the camera to see.

* * *

AN: I'm almost definitely going to be coming back to this for at least one more installment in the future. This fic was inspired by an urge to write a Resurrecting!Taylor after reading '[The Shadow Over Brockton Bay](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18761293/chapters/44507374)' by Temeritous here on Ao3. It's very good and I highly recommend it.


	22. The End of the Rope - Aftermath 02

**The End of the Rope - Aftermath 02**

_**3 Months Prior** _

The PRT trooper chuckled as he tossed the bench against the wall, then stood up straight, flexing his arms and smiling wide. I returned his easy grin, even though I died inside a little bit more. He was so happy to be able to get a Brute rating, even for just a few minutes, yet it tired me out so much. And I could only give it to one or two people at once without needing to sit down and rest. And I couldn't even empower myself.

I was a mild Othala. I was a weaker, more pathetic version of Othala. At least Othala could make people invincible. I couldn't even make someone bulletproof. I could barely give them minor regeneration. At least all of my buffs happened at once unlike hers.

"That's very impressive Mr. Sanders," Doctor Mickel said. She walked out from behind the security shield and ticked another block off on her tablet. "Any diminishment in the empowerment?"

"None that I can feel. This is amazing, Braid. If you could buff all of my team like this we'd be so much more effective. Safer too!"

"I can't do that," I mumbled.

Doctor Mickel frowned as she tapped at the tablet. "Are you sure? From the readings I'm getting, there is a distinct power gradient here. Most of the times I see something like this there's usually another aspect of the power. Perhaps something longer distance or a second toggle, maybe to Thinker abilities instead of Brutes?"

"Hey, lay off the kid Doc, she knows her powers better than we lowly grunts."

"I am a _researcher_ thank you very much."

"This is all I can do," I said shaking my head. The whisper at the back of my skull calling me a liar didn't help my feelings of uselessness. The shame and guilt from the reminder of the dead school hamster was just more heaped on top.

I squashed those images and instead pulled up another smile, throwing it across my face. "Kid Win was saying that he could think faster and focus better when I buffed him. I think it works differently with parahumans. Maybe that's the other aspect?"

 _Liar_.

* * *

"Braid, answer your fucking comms or I swear to god I will fuck you up so bad -"

Tattletale covered my earpiece with her hand, muffling Shadow Stalker's continued stream of cursing. The blonde girl stared at the comms device with a sad, little scowl. For a moment I thought that she was considering if it was going to explode - a not unreasonable worry for tinkertech devices. But then why would she still be holding it?

"I'm not afraid of this blowing up, Braid," Tattletale said, sighing. "I'm worried that your teammate is this - let's say - _acerbic_ towards you. Is she always like this?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to you."

"You're also not supposed to be out on your own."

"I-I wasn't. I just-I just needed to get away for a few minutes!"

"In full costume?"

"I didn't have my street clothes! Give me back my comms!" I wasn't even lying. Maybe omitting a few important details, but she was a Villain and I was Ward. She didn't get important details. She _especially_ didn't get the important details when Armsmaster didn't think they were important enough to bother disrupting his patrol over.

Tattletale frowned. I could still hear Shadow Stalker's muffled yelling through her cupped hands. I pulled back from it even as she started to extend her arm towards me. She stopped moving as soon as I flinched - which just made me flinch even stronger. "Honestly, I don't think I should give this back."

"Because I'm a Ward and you're a Villain?" I hissed. I just needed to concentrate on being angry instead of upset. If I was angry I could think clearly and I wouldn't give anything away. If I was angry then I wouldn't have to think about dealing with Shadow Stalker for another 2 hours and 4 minutes. Being upset was how I got into this problem in the first place.

I was still too tired to even try to run away, let alone fight, but all Tattletale could do was talk. The PRT agreed on that. She was a Thinker, and she talked. She wasn't violent unless you were in her way, and neither were her team; they were smash-and-grab people. If it wasn't for Uber and Leet, they would probably be the resident Beloved Mascot Villians for the city. Hellhound was supposed to be a bit rough around the edges, but I'd take her over some of the people I knew any day. And her monster dogs were even rather adorable in an ugly-cute kind of way. Plus Regent was always amusing as hell with his irreverent attitude. Some of the audio clips of him were comedy gold.

And my attention was wandering. I was so tired. So, so tired. I should never have let Shadow Stalker bully me into buffing her for that fifth fight. She hadn't even needed it. Not against two idiot muggers. I needed to sit down. I needed to sit down and…

"No, because if I give this back to you right now then you're just going to get verbally abused by the resident bitch. Why did they send _her_ after you?" I scowled, my eye twitching under the green and brown mask. "Oh, they didn't send her. She's who you were trying to get away from for a bit. Patrol gone bad? Not just that, something deeper? Oh, wow, trouble in paradise."

"Please give it back," I pleaded. "We both know I can't do anything to stop you on my own and your team is already leaving. Nobody would respond quickly enough to get in your way. Please…just give it back."

Grue stepped out of the store to the side and jerked his head towards the panting monster dog sitting in the street a few feet away. "Tattletale, time to go."

"Yeah, come on Tats! We can tease the new Ward later, when we don't have, like, _all_ of the pretty, pretty Empire jewelry to go and drape over our non-existent beautiful boyfriends." In spite of myself I felt a corner of my mouth lift up for an instant at Regent's joke. If this shop really was an Empire front…then I didn't feel nearly as bad about not being able to get backup here - backup who could do something at least.

Tattletale kept staring at me, her frown never leaving her face even as Grue levered himself and his bag of ill-gotten gains onto the dog behind Hellhound. Hellhound herself just kept patting the slobbery dog's side. "Hey, look at me Braid, eyes down here." I snapped my gaze back to Tattletale and she started to extend her hand again. I winced as I lifted a shaky hand towards the comm device. She closed her fist again. "Why do you want this back so bad? It's an easy out for you right now. All you have to do is say that I broke it. It'll be the truth."

"I'll get in trouble for breaking it," I murmured. "I'll have to pay for Armsmaster to fix it. I don't have the money for that. Director Piggot will say that I broke it on purpose - to avoid patrol with _her_. Please…give it back."

"Tattletale!"

"One second!" she called back, not lifting her eyes from me. "Why do they have you going out with her if it's that bad? I'm not a fan of the Heroes in general, but they're usually not showcasing stellar incompetence. They're overworked and outnumbered in this city, but they're not bad people."

"Gallant called out and she covered for him," I whispered. Fucking _Dean_. His date had probably ran long and I was the one who got shafted. It had happened before. He never checked the schedule when he had to call out. It wasn't even Vicky's fault. I had checked with Amy. Vicky didn't know because he didn't bother to tell her it was a problem. Maybe I should talk to Vicky…

God I was _so tired_. I scrubbed at my eyes under my mask with the back of my hand, trying not to sniffle and I swayed on my feet.

"How much longer do you have in your patrol, Braid?"

"1 hour 59 minutes." An eternity.

"Tattletale if you don't get on Judas right now, we are leaving you behind!"

"Braid," Tattletale said, her voice soft. Gentle. She was a Villain. A somewhat harmless villain in a team of people that were pretty neat and definitely the better ones in the city - against Nazis and kidnappers and drug peddlers that wasn't really too hard - but she was still a Villain. She wasn't supposed to be gentle. The world spun around her as I leaned against a light pole. I just needed to sit down. Just for a minute. "Braid, I'm going to break this. Then I'm going to tap you on the head. Not enough to do anything, but enough to register with your sensors that you were hit. You're already passing out, but you'll probably be conscious for another 5 to 10 minutes and you don't need the wannabe-murderer's vitriol in your ear the whole time."

"I just need t' ssit down," I said. Was I slurring my words? No. I was speaking perfectly fine. I was just tired.

"I'm going to activate your beacon too. Armsmaster is nearby. He should get here faster than Shadow Stalker. This area is safe enough and the Empire isn't going to respond and _prove_ this shop is theirs, not until long after you've been picked up. And just in case, I'm going to stick around too; to make sure that Armsmaster is the first one to get to you. Okay?"

I blinked. She had said something, but it was hard to follow. I slid down to the sidewalk and took a few deep breaths as I tried to ignore the tightening in my chest. I was _so tired_.

Something crunched and I felt my eyes tearing up again as I saw my comms die under Tattletale's boot. Sophia's threats dissolved immediately, but…that was going to come out of my pay. I needed that money. I needed to contribute. I needed to…

"Okay, don't tense up, remember, this is just enough for the sensors in your suit to register a hit."

I blinked. My head rocked back and Tattletale was above me again laying me back down against the ground as she reached behind my neck to flip my emergency beacon.

I couldn't stop the sniffles this time I looked up at her wide green eyes hanging over me. "Why?" I whispered.

She was silent as she looked back at me. Finally she shrugged. "I would've liked to have met you out of costume, Braid. I think we could've been friends. I think that would've been…good for you. When they debrief you, don't you dare gloss over how Shadow Stalker pushed you to exhaust yourself. Not all powers are limitless. Not all of us can keep going for forever."

" _TATTLETALE!_ "

"I'm coming!" She looked back at me one last time. "Check your mailbox in a few days. I don't think they're actually going to bill you, but check your mailbox just in case."

I could barely see her as she stood back up. Things were too blurry and there were dark spots in my vision now. A snuffling next to me was the only herald before a rough, wet tongue licked my face.

"Good doggy," I mumbled, barely above a whisper. I hadn't been eating enough, I hadn't been sleeping enough. Maybe that was why five in a row had taken so much out of me. Just a short nap wouldn't hurt. Just a short nap.

A whisper at the back of my skull told me that I didn't _have_ to be tired. I didn't _have_ to be helpless. I didn't _have_ to be useless and pushed around. All I had to do was… _reach out_.

I shoved that voice aside.

There was a shrill whistle and the sidewalk shook under me as the slobber-monster jumped away towards his master.

Just a short nap.

It would be easier to breathe after I napped. It always was.

My eyes fluttered closed as a blonde girl, shoving her arm through a coat, skidded to a stop and knelt down next to me.

* * *

_**Present** _

Lisa squeezed Taylor's hand as the brunette's grip on the car door tightened, her knuckles going momentarily white as Lisa slowed and stopped in the line of vehicles on the road leading out of Brockton Bay. The PRT troopers at the makeshift roadblock ahead must have been doing a thorough job: traffic was backed up for over a mile. "Hey, we don't know that this is for us," Lisa said.

 _It is_. Her power helpfully added. Goddammit. Even the back roads were getting covered. This was ridiculous. They were going to have to go on foot if she couldn't convince Taylor to calm down soon.

Lisa had barely managed to stop coughing every few minutes and she could still feel the aching throb in her head where the bullet had hit - _pierced her skull and scrambled her brains_ \- and done some damage. She couldn't go walking miles across city lines in the hopes of finding a car to steal.

Taylor could always carry her…No! Bad Lisa! Bad thoughts! Think calming thoughts! Woosah!

"We can't turn around," Taylor said. She sank lower in the passenger seat.

"Tay."

"You're not entirely better. We need to stop moving, so we need to get out of the city. Here, how do I look?" She pulled the ball cap down over her glowing eyes and stuffed her hair almost underneath it, leaving just a few strands to hang down. Coupled with the looser shirt, it was hard to tell her gender let alone most of her distinctive features.

And none of that would matter one bit. Not to the troopers. Troopers she had probably worked with, maybe even saved their lives with her empowerments. Troopers who wouldn't be fooled by _sunglasses_ ; sunglasses that didn't even do a halfway decent job of hiding Taylor's bright golden eyes that leaked light around the edges.

"Taylor, don't take this the wrong way, but while you probably pass for an effeminate boy at the moment -"

"'I can't pass'," she scoffed, "you owe me twenty bucks, Alec!"

"These guys are going to see right through you."

Taylor scowled, her grip on Lisa's hand tightening enough to make her fingers ache. "Let's stay in that Motel we passed two miles back. I can go find some abandoned lots in need of weeding and maybe a cow or two if there's a farm nearby. We go through the woods on foot tomorrow."

"Sweetie, you know I can't do that. Like I'm pretty sure I physically _can't_."

Taylor nodded. "I know. I'll carry you. It'll be okay."

"Taylor…"

"It'll be fine. You'll be fine in another few days, Lisa. I can see your essence when I touch you. I don't have to feed you a minor stream anymore. Your own is flowing again; it started up last night. You're improving and you'll be fine soon."

Don't say it, Lisa. Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it. "If you truly believe that then why aren't you letting yourself drop back down to your normal levels, Taylor?" Goddammit! Why did you have to go and _say_ it?!

_Cringing away from you at the completion of the question but not at the start of the query. Didn't want you to ask. Knew you would. Knew the answer already. Not afraid of damage to you from lack of Life drip feed. Afraid of collateral damage should you or another be hurt when she was not powered up and could not react in time._

"I-I just…" Taylor sunk deeper into the seat, the ball cap hiding her face entirely. "I don't want to ever be unenhanced again. If I'm enhanced I can see things coming. I can stop them. I can react fast enough to - I can - I can - I'm never going to let the people I care about get hurt because I was weak and pathetic and vulnerable ever again."

"Taylor, _you_ weren't the reason that I got hurt." 'That I got _dead_ ', she corrected internally. "Coil was always going to try to kill me one day unless I killed him first. I just…I got outmaneuvered and I didn't see him coming. And you and Vista got caught up in it. And I'm so very sorry. I'm never going to stop apologizing for that."

"Coil didn't convince Sophia to come after me," Taylor whispered. "Coil didn't push me to kill her. Coil didn't even convince me to run away afterwards."

 _Taylor is correct. Coil took advantage of the situation and manipulated all camera footage his PRT access allowed when sending you the 'available footage' in order to steer the results to his benefit_.

No, really? Like she hadn't figured that out ages ago. Sometimes her power was a real fucking idiot.

Taylor roused and picked her head up, the glow dimming somewhat behind the sunglasses as she narrowed her eyes. "We're too close. Why haven't we turned around yet?"

"Taylor, we don't need to keep running. You have friends back there. People who care about you. People who are worried and scared. None of this is for me. Sure, they'd like to talk to me and run some tests. But this is to find _you_. To make sure that _you_ are okay. To make sure that no one _else_ gets to you and tries to force you to work for them like _he_ did. Because they're going to now. We're never going to be able to escape that."

Taylor's head dropped back to her chest and her fingers locked like a vice around Lisa's. "I just want to go to a cabin in the woods. I can get an e-reader and we can get internet and satellite cable and…we can shut everyone out that we don't want and…Why can't they all just leave us _alone_?"

Lisa winced. That dream had been possible once upon a time. She had even been looking forward to it herself, after a fashion. She liked being in the game, but there was a certain thrill to doing online jobs as well. She could be the Smart One through internet lines just as easily as she could by walking into a room. Less chance of getting shot in the head with the former too which was always a plus. "Tay, I think that possibility died a fiery death the instant that you resurrected me. Hell, with how your power works you're probably one of the few people who can one-shot _Lung_."

The brunette sniffled once, and nodded. "Fuck."

"Good summation. Hey, how about some music. Something to calm both of our nerves."

Lisa flipped the dial on the radio, but instead of pop or rock or even dreaded country, it was the local news. She almost changed stations. Her thumb was still on the tuner, when she froze solid, her eyes going wide. Taylor's grip on her hand had tightened enough to actually hurt her now. She didn't particularly care.

"… _How New Wave will deal with the loss of yet another of their members remains to be seen. Glory Girl and Panacea have been the most active of the team in recent months since Laserdream began attending college._

" _Many have called for Kill Order designations as suitable repercussions for Fenja and Menja in retaliation for Glory Girl's death. Kaiser's swift response is standard, but expected. He has made clear that no one was aware that Glory Girl was not a true Brute and that she was, in actuality, vulnerable following a strike. The Empire Eighty Eight is maintaining that this is not an intentional escalation of any hostility on their part and that this is simply a 'tragic accident that sometimes occurs whenever inexperienced children' attempt to enter the Cape scene._

" _New Wave has not yet responded to requests for comment. We are told that Glory Girl was taken to the PRT medical facility following the incident and that that was where Panacea pronounced her death one hour ago. Please join us in a moment of silence for Glory Girl."_

There were only two cars ahead of them now. Lisa looked at Taylor. Taylor stared back at her, her sunglasses off and ball cap between her legs.

"Can you get there faster than if we talk to those guys?" Taylor asked.

"We stole a fast car for a reason."

Taylor shut her blinding, golden eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out in a slow, steady stream. Her iron grip on Lisa's fingers never wavered. "Go."

Lisa nodded once. Then she slammed on the accelerator, spun the wheel and pulled into a U-turn. The PRT building was 12 miles away. They would be there in 7 minutes.


End file.
